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Title: History of the Colony of Queensland, Volume I.Author: William Coote.* A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook *eBook No.: 1400241h.htmlLanguage: EnglishDate first posted: January 2014Date most recently January 2014Produced by: Ned Overton.Project Gutenberg Australia eBooks are created from printed editionswhich are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright noticeis included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance with a particularpaper edition.Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check thecopyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing thisfile.This eBook is made available at no cost and with almost no restrictionswhatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the termsof the Project Gutenberg AustraliaLicence which may be viewed online.

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Production Notes:

Some of the text at the bottom of page 120 remainsindecipherable across several copies of this work, as do severalother small parts. A few inverted minutes and seconds symbols andunusual spellings have been retained. Mr. Canon in Chapter VI. isMr. Carron.

Volume II of this work was never published. Read about WilliamCoote at the Australian Dictionary of Biography website.

HISTORY

OF THE

COLONY OF QUEENSLAND

FROM 1770 TO THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR 1881

IN TWO VOLUMES.

BY WILLIAM COOTE.

VOLUME 1

FROM 1770 TO THE SEPARATION OF THE DISTRICT OF MORETONBAY
FROM NEW SOUTH WALES AND ITS CONSTITUTION AS A
SEPARATE COLONY IN DECEMBER 1859.

BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND:
PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM THORNE, EDWARD AND ADELAIDESTREETS.

MDCCCLXXXII.
(ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

TO THE MEMORY

OF HER

The Loss of whose Thoughtful Counsel andLoving Help
Is a Life-long Regret,

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK.

Map of Queensland
at the date of separation,
A.D. 1859

[Click on the map to enlarge it.]

CONTENTS TO VOLUME I.

{Page ix}

PREFACE.

Fifteen years form a long space in aman's lifetime; and during so many I have been from time to timecollecting and collating materials, and endeavouring toaccomplish the publication of the history which is now submittedto the public. Four years since a portion was published in one ofour local journals; but failing health, and inability to use myright hand, prevented its completion at the time;—acircumstance which, however I may have suffered from its causes,I cannot say that I regret. Time has been afforded for revision,for additional information, and for the correction of conclusionswhich, although not hastily formed, prove to have been arrived atupon insufficient basis. Nevertheless, the diligence with whichfacts had been sought out, and the care with which their allegedauthenticity was sifted, were, at the time I allude to, admittedby those most entitled to express an opinion on suchmatters;—the few who, having taken an active part in thefoundation of the colony, survived to witness the changes whichmore than a quarter of a century has effected in its position,and a growth flattering enough to the people, but owing more tothe beneficence of Providence than the foresight or wisdom ofman.

The division of the history into two parts was not decidedupon without careful consideration. Necessarily the growth of thecolony before and since its separation from New South Walesdiffers in essential points;—a difference not so much dueto mere alteration in the administration of government as issometimes supposed. The changes wrought by the development ofmaterial science within the last few years, have greatlyintensified those which might have been looked for in theordinary onward march of civilisation; and we have less to createthan to follow and grasp the benefits flowing from the successionof discoveries. Since the year 1859 what marvellous applicationsof science have we seen; and we can scarcely appreciate theirinfluence, unless we ask ourselves what, had they not been made,would most probably have been the position of the colony at thepresent hour. But we ought not to be blinded by the glare,however dazzling, of scientific light, to the value of theunobtrusive material which in other respects the earlier historyof the one time infant settlement offers to us. Men wrought,toiled, suffered, were misgoverned, and endured; and after manyyears, apparently, gained the independence that was the desire oftheir hearts. And the student who watches the politicaldiscussions which have now most interest to us will be amused byfinding how much of value in them was initiated in those earlydays. Our schemes of government, our theories of finance, ourland legislation, our plans of settlement, seem the echoes, toooften faint and feeble, of the voices of those, not in reality soremote, but yet which seem to us, far off years: and when we aremost proud of novelty we are often most certain to have beenanticipated in our inventions.

There are, moreover, some features in the early history ofMoreton Bay which cannot be repeated in any attempt at furthercolonisation;—not likely to be fettered by such troubles asbeset the foundation of the colony in the obstacles presented bythe expiring struggles of the transportation system. It may besuggested that the narration of those struggles imparts less ofdignity than degradation in the retrospect; but they left theirtraces long after they ended, and they were so much mixed up withthe twin contest for representative institutions that it isnecessary to go into detail to some extent with respect to itsincidents. Nor will the successive changes which the formation ofparliamentary government underwent, from the time that afragmentary sort of self rule was first granted, until the finalembodiment of 'William 'Wentworth's most practical views of theConstitution of New South Wales—the parent of ourown—be without interest to the thoughtful observer: and weshall find that, had the suggestive recommendations fostered bythe late Earl Grey been given the weight due to them, we mighthave been spared the trouble of discussing federal systems, andlocal administration would have long since passed from the regionof experiment to complete fulfilment. These difficulties andfluctuations indicate how important a revolution in the characterof the relations of the mother country with her Australiancolonies was, almost without observation, slowly and surelymaking its way; and thus they became of historic value toourselves. Age and transition leave an authoritative stamp uponmany circumstances which, from a commercial or presently socialpoint of view, seem comparatively worthless; or those researches,which occupy so much of modern industry and speculation, would beonly so many proofs of the perversion of intellectual power: hewho ignores the past simply deprecates the value of his ownexistence to the future. And, apart from the philosophic interestof the facts presented, there must be the local feeling,connected with places and persons, incorporated in therecollections of many of our people,—with the associationsand fortunes of the majority,—the preservation of which, ina permanent form, cannot but be gratifying to them, of whateveruse it may be in educating the rising generation. Of the fewthousands of native Queenslanders living amongst us in 1881, howmany may be supposed to know anything of the history of thecountry of their birth? Yet, surely, if it be essential that theyshould be certain how much remains of the old Saxon laws in theBritish constitution, and be familiar with the origin of theBritish nation, it is, at least, equally so that they should notbe left in ignorance—fruitful parent of prejudice—asto the origin of what may be called their own laws, of the growthof their own people, and of the foundation of their nativeland.

Again, there is much in the history of Australian geographicalexploration which belongs to the time before Moreton Bay expandedinto Queensland. The discoveries of Allan Cunningham, theadventurous journey of Leichhardt, the patient perseverance andmournful death of Kennedy, the keen logical induction and specialinsight of Clarke, the unruffled endurance of Gregory:—allbelong to those early days. In whatever of triumph is due to thefoundation of the colony science surely has her share: whetherthat is sufficiently vindicated in this history the reader mustjudge. If it is not interesting it will not be from the absenceof eminent labourers or worthy achievement. The fault will restwith the narrative, not with the work recorded.

I believe that, both in the old country and in the neighboringcolonies, as well as in Queensland, the early incidents of ourorigin and growth will furnish a by no means useless contributionto the great store of facts which concern the general progress ofhumanity. Unfortunately, few amongst us have time or opportunityto collect that portion which elucidates either; while day by daythe sources of information are decreasing, and those who couldeither furnish it, or indicate where it could be found, aresilently passing away. Thus believing, and thus regretfullyobserving, I have collected the material for the first volume,and wrought as I have been enabled in its arrangement anddistribution.

The period since the separation of Moreton Bay from New SouthWales has been one of self-government, and necessarily presentinga species of facts differing from those found in its predecessor,requires a different kind of record. We have reached, althoughfew in numbers, a position in the colonies sufficiently marked tojustify more of analysis and less of narrative than was thoughtdesirable in the first instance. We have had twenty-one years ofthe mimicry of politics, and of the reality of class and personalinterests and strife; we have arrived at the dignity of a publicdebt equal to that of some sovereign states of almost secondaryeminence,—larger in proportion to our numbers than that ofour own neighbours,—and the questionable distinction ofbeing by far the most heavily taxed community in Australia. Wehave constructed great public works; we have manufactured astatute book which, after two successive purgations, offers thereader four goodly volumes as the result of a third revision,which, within a very moderate period, will require revisingitself; we have had three or four systems of land law, each atfirst deemed perfection, each in its turn decried and condemned;and are now casting about for another; and we have still todiscern a plan of immigration which will meet the wants, not onlyof labor but of that class of employers having moderate meanswhich forms the most substantial buttress to the State. And weare on the eve of great changes. Up to a very recent date, theindependence of this colony was, in some important respects, as Ihave before suggested, more apparent than real. It labored, andother men entered into its labors. It had the slightest directactual commercial status in the mother country; its trade wasfiltered through New South Wales; its leading exports found norecognition as from itself in the European markets; and itsfinancial concerns were in the hands of banks and agencies, mostof them having preponderating engagements and connectionselsewhere, and looking on our local interests as proportionatelysubordinate and subsidiary. The first stroke at the fetters thusimposed, was the establishment of a local bank; the second, thesecuring of a direct steam service with Great Britain. The effectof the freedom thus opened to us should be seen in insistence onthe quotation of our product as our own on the London market, andin the initiation of a steady and efficient and, whilecontinuous, a self regulatory system of immigration. We arebrought into fair contact with the world of commerce, and ofculture as well, and it will be our own fault if we do not availourselves of the opportunity thus presented.

And further, in that extraordinary impetus given toenterprise, in one direction by the unexpected and simultaneousdisclosure in districts widely apart of enormous mineralwealth—indeed offering "the potentiality of wealth beyondthe dreams of avarice,"—and in another, by the almostsudden awakening to the possible magnitude of the sugar industry,there is sufficient indication that we are emerging from thecondition in which weak and childish localisms can be allowed tointerfere with the general progress and the general good. More,perhaps than either, the discovery of a process which opens anever growing market for our flocks and herds, has infused newlife into a pastoral industry which otherwise seemed likely to besuffocated by its own luxuriance of production. The far seeingjudgment of that excellent man, the late Thomas S. Mort, has beenvindicated, if not in the kind of process, amply in the resultsan efficient one is bringing about: it being in his case, as inothers, that "wisdom is justified in her children," although theymay not be permitted to see the fruition of their labour. I speakthen but the language of truth and soberness, when I say there isno country on this earth—

"Whatever clime the sun's brightcircle warms"

more certain, by the prudent use and husbandry of itsresources, by bold and high principled statesmanship, by wise andjust legislation, to become the fair and fruitful and happy homeof teeming millions, than this colony of Queensland. Let me addthat there is no country whose future may be more marred by thegreed of classes, or of individuals, who cloak an insatiableavarice of power or wealth beneath the ample folds of anostensible patriotism; that there is no country in which it ismore necessary to cast class and even national prejudices on oneside, and to remember that if the earth was created for man toreplenish and subdue, the present inheritors of this vastterritory are not all mankind; nor are the interests of allothers of God's creatures to be subordinated to what a fewthousand souls, scattered over nearly seven hundred thousandsquare miles, may be pleased to consider their own.

Bearing in mind these considerations, I have adopted, in thesecond volume, a different distribution of matter from thatemployed in the first. Instead of carrying on the narrativegenerally I divide it under the separate heads under which, foreach subject to be thoroughly understood, it should naturallyfall. Our social progress, our great public works, our statefinance, our land legislation, our agricultural failures, and theadvance in the three great industries which furnish our stapleexports, require to be dealt with from the beginning as, so tospeak, separate wholes. The parliamentary history I include inthe ordinary narrative; because, when the legislative procedurewhich relates to the other subjects is eliminated from thegeneral record, there is not much to be noticed, and what thereis runs easily enough along with the general current of thehistory.

I am not unaware of the difficulties and dangers which maybeset a writer who ventures to bring his narrative down, as itwere, to the immediate present. I think it was old Fuller whoremarked, that he who holds a candle to lighten posterity, mayburn his fingers withal—a fate which might seem certainlyto await one who has mingled not inactively in the disputes ofthe day. But as to this I must take my chance; being neverthelessof opinion that the historian who becomes a partizan, to theextent that he does so, discredits not only his judgment, but hisaccuracy. What facts are necessary for the elucidation andcompleteness of Queensland history, will be brought out with suchclearness and vigor as I can exert; what is unnecessary to thatmain purpose, and would gratify only mere curiosity, or personalspite, will be as vigorously suppressed. That some conclusionsshould be deducted, some opinions expressed, is inevitable; but Itrust to escape the censure passed by one of our most brilliantBritish critics upon a colonial author—in his day eminentand useful nevertheless—that his history was one of his ownsayings and doings, with some references to the colony of whichhe professed to write. In the first volume, the object is topreserve what would be useful and interesting of what wouldotherwise be lost; in the second, to present, in a connected andavailable form, information enabling the reader, whether in thecolony or in the mother country, to understand how we arrived atour present position; what that is; and what our possible futuremay be; what is required to rectify the errors of our earlycareer, and to make even our failures contributory to oursuccess. On the accuracy of the statements made in both volumes,I challenge the criticisms of my fellow colonists: as to thevalue of conclusions drawn from them, that must be left to publicopinion to decide.

It would be ungrateful in me to close these remarks withoutexpressing my thanks to the friends who have so kindly assistedme in the search after information. To the late Sir M. C.O'Connell, the late Mr. Charles Coxen, and the Late Mr. G. H.Davenport, I was largely indebted. To Mr. A. C. Gregory, Mr. C.Barton, of Maryborough, Mr. Landsborough, Mr. George Bourne, Mr.Wm. Thornton—I am under great obligations; and especiallyto the Hon. James Swan for assistance which no other person inthe colony could have rendered. If I were to conclude by thankingMr. Petrie, Mr. Walter Hill (the late curator of our BotanicalGardens), Mr. Warner, senr., Mr. P. Phillips, and the proprietorsof theQueensland Times for the aid rendered me in thenecessary researches into our earlier history, I trust I shallnot be thought ungrateful to many, who, from time to time,supplied a fact or suggested a question which has been utilized,although, with a negligence common to authors, the source hasbeen forgotten. To the President of the Legislative Council, andthe Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, my thanks are due forthe access afforded me to the Parliamentary Library; and to manyof the Clergy—of whom particular mention will be found inthe proper place, I am indebted for facts which they only couldhave given me the opportunity of tracing. The courtesy of theofficial departments whenever I have had occasion to refer tothem, I gladly acknowledge. I can affirm for myself, that I havespared no pains in the collection of information, and in testingthe accuracy of that which was obtained; and it only remains forme to ask the indulgence of the reader for the faults he may findin the use made of the material so kindly afforded.

South Brisbane,
     January 1, 1882.

{Page 1}

CHAPTER I.

1770-1824.

Connection of past with presentHistory—Original cause of Settlement—Cook's Voyage toEastern Australia—Flinders' first Voyage in 1799—Hissecond Voyage and Examination of Moreton Bay in 1801—King'sVoyage in 1820—Oxley's Search after a Site for a PenalEstablishment—His alleged Discovery of the Brisbane Riverin Moreton Bay in 1823—Determination by the Government ofNew South Wales to form a Convict Settlement in theBay.

It is difficult to forecast the futureof a colony which, possessing an area of 669,520 square miles,and a coast line of 2.250, presents so great a variety ofclimate, that in portions of its southern districts, it admits ofthe successful growth of almost all the European vegetableproducts, and in its central and northern territory, affords usfacilities for semi-tropical and tropical cultivation of allkinds, while its geological formation is so abundantly prolific,as to include within it almost every species of valuablemineral—but which at the time I am writing, is estimated topossess a population of little more than 213,000 souls. That withsuch a population it raises an annual income of nearly twomillions sterling; that its exports (which now include antimony,coal, gold, silver, tin, rum, sugar, tallow, timber, wool, andmany minor, but rapidly developing articles of native produce)amounted in value in 1880 to £3,448,160, and its imports to£3,087,296; that the average deposits in the ordinary banks forthat year amounted to £4,062,716; and in the savings bank, to£747,089; that its sheep numbered 6,935,967, and its cattle,3,162,572;—these facts indicate a present which may betaken as foreshadowing, under wise legislation and well-devotedenergy, a brilliant future. Nor am I inclined to look upon itspublic debt, incurred and authorized of some fourteen and aquarter millions, as likely to depress the energy of the people,or to interfere with the development of the colony, although itsincrease, unless under a widely different system from theexisting one, would be much to be deplored. We shall have tocount on 1.406 miles of railway in return for the nine millionsof that debt expended upon them; and for the remainder, 5,768miles of telegraph; costly and necessary, though sometimesexperimental, improvements in our harbors and rivers; many publicworks; and an immigration expenditure of a million and a half:and although some portion of the loans have been applied to whatpublic loans are too often required for—meeting thedifference between current income and current outlay, the amountis comparatively small. When I add, that the colony possesses 345public schools, employing 989 teachers of various grades in theinstruction of 43,303 pupils, besides 5 grammar schools, and 71private schools, it may be imagined that material requirements donot exclusively occupy the public attention.

The reader, who turns to the thirteenth chapter of thisvolume, will see what a comparatively humble place Queenslandoccupied on the list of British colonies in 1859 to that whichthe figures I have quoted show that she does now; but even thathumble position had not been reached without much and persistenttoil and effort, perhaps, considering the small population andtheir scanty facilities, more of both than has been shown in thenoisier, and at times obtrusive, interval between the twoperiods. It is about a hundred and eleven years since theoccurrence of the first incident which was in due time to befollowed by the occupancy of Moreton Bay. Fifty-four years afterthat, the first convict settlement was planted at Brisbane.Eighteen years more elapsed before the district was proclaimed afree settlement; and seventeen years of growth and grumblingended in 1859 by its creation into a colony. The history of theseperiods, so far as it concerns Queensland, and the fluctuationsof condition, of effort, and of hope, which marked their lateryears, until at length the colonists congratulated each otherthat they were free to govern themselves, I have now tonarrate.

Within a comparatively recent period, proofs have been broughtforward which would give to the Portugese navigators a priorityof discovery on the northern shores of Australia. But whatevermight have been their success—of which but faint recordshave been left—the Dutch are entitled to the credit ofbeing the first continuous explorers of the northern, western,and southern coasts of Australia. Their discoveries have been sooften and so completely described, that it would seem somethinglike book-making to repeat the description.* The right of Cook tobe considered the first who made any definite investigation ofthe greater part of the eastern coast, has been almostuniversally conceded, although occasionally even his claims havebeen questioned. In a memoir on the Chago Islands ** by Mr.Dalrymple, a hydrographer of eminence at the commencement of thepresent century, he adverts to a manuscript in his possession,once belonging to Sir Joseph Banks, which, from internalevidence, he considered to be not later than of the year1575.

[* See "Lang's History of New South Wales," vol.I., chap. i. London, 1832:—but more especially a series ofarticles in the Brisbane weekly newspaper, the Week, for 1872,well worthy of republication in a separate form.]

[** Royal Geographical Society's Journal, vol.II. (London, 1832).]

"This very curious manuscript is painted on parchmentwith the Dauphin's Arms and contains much lost knowledge.Kerguelen's Land seems plainly denoted, and the east coast of NewHolland—as in name it is expressed—with some curiouscircumstances of correspondence to Captain Cook's narrative. Whathe names Bay of Inlets, is in the manuscript, called Bay Perdue:Bay of Isles, R. de beaucoup d'Iles, and where theEndeavour struck, Caste Dangereuse; so that we may saywith Solomon, there is nothing new under the sun.'"

It would not be just to Cook to hastily accept, in itsentirety, the conclusion here indicated. It is not impossible,however, that the Dauphin's map may have been shown by Banks, towhose exertions the sending of Cook was mainly due, to thatnavigator, although Hawkesworth's ignorance of its existence mayhave prevented its acknowledgement by him in his account of thevoyage.—All that we know of Cook's character goes tonegative the supposition that he would deliberately appropriatewithout acknowledgement the discoveries of a predecessor.

It is not necessary for me to recapitulate the circumstanceswhich led to Cook's voyage, for they are over and over againdetailed in a variety of publications readily accessible to thegeneral reader. I therefore confine myself to such a reference toHawkesworth's account of that expedition as may connect itsdiscoveries with the general narrative of the exploration andsettlement of the colony.

In May, 1770, Cook was on the east coast of Australia, sailingpast "a bay or harbour in which there appeared to be goodanchorage, and which I called Port Jackson," and on the 16th ofthat month, he was off Point Danger, the commencement of ourpresent southern boundary. On the 17th, he was abreast CapeMoreton.

"From Cape Moreton the land trends away further thancan be seen, for there is a small space where, at this time, noland is visible, and some on board, having also observed that thesea looked paler than usual, were of opinion that the bottom ofMoreton Bay opened into a river: we had then thirty-four fathomsof water, and a fine sandy bottom; this alone would have producedthe changes that had been observed in the colour of the water;and it was by no means necessary to suppose a river to accountfor the land at the bottom of the bay not being visible, forsupposing the land there to be as low as we knew it to be in ahundred other parts of the coast, it would have been impossibleto see it from the station of the ship. However, if any futurenavigator should be disposed to determine the question whetherthere is or is not a river in this place, which the wind wouldnot permit us to do, the situation may always be found by threehills which lie to the northward of it, in latitude of 26° 53'.These hills lie but a little way inland, and not far from eachother; they are remarkable for the singular form of theirelevation, which very much resembles a glasshouse, and for whichreason I called them the Glass Houses;' the northernmost of thethree is the highest and largest. There are also several otherpeaked hills inland, to the northward of these, but they are notnearly so remarkable."

The mixture of accuracy and error in this extract is curious.Cook was right in supposing that a river did not flow in thedirection which he named, and wrong in his conjecture as to theposition of that which actually did open into Moreton Bay. It isquite possible that his suggestions may have influenced Flindersin his subsequent search, for his name stood then as high ingeographical investigation as Nelson's afterwards did in war.

Leaving Moreton Bay, Cook ran along the north eastern coast ofAustralia. Hervey's Bay and Keppel Bay were successivelydiscovered and named. The little intermediate inlet of BustardBay was named in honor of

"a species of bustard, one of which was shot, aslarge as a turkey, and weighing seventeen pounds and a half. Weall agreed that this was the best bird we had eaten since we hadleft England."

Port Curtis he appears to have passed in the night. BroadSound and Cape Palmerston owe their names to him, as do alsoHalifax Bay and Rockingham Bay, "where there appears to be goodshelter and good anchorage, but I did not stay to examine it."Without much more than mere nautical examination he continued hisvoyage to the northern extremity of the coast, and left BoobyIsland on the 23rd of August, 1770, having, in the name of theKing of Great Britain, claimed possession of "the entire easterncoast from latitude 33° to this place, latitude 10½° S." Theterritory thus taken he named New South Wales. The island uponwhich the ceremony was performed he named Possession Island.

The eighth chapter of the third volume of Hawkesworth'saccount is occupied with

"a particular description of the country, itsproducts and people, a specimen of the language, and someobservations on the currents and tides."

The curious in such matters may find it interesting to compareCook's observations with the recorded experience of travellersand explorers in our own day. His speculations upon the habits ofthe aboriginal inhabitants and the natural character and produceof the country, seem to me to have shared the natural fate whichbefalls almost all early theories—supercession byconclusions that are derived from more recent and more detailedinvestigation.

After the voyage of Captain Cook no thoroughly organisedattempt was made for nearly thirty years at further discovery onour coasts; but a combination of individual enterprise and publiccuriosity, led to an effort, in 1801, to find some river whichshould afford access to the interior of the vast island ofAustralia. Accordingly, on June 21, in that year, the Lords ofthe Admiralty issued their official instructions to

"Matthew Flinders, Esq., commander of His Majesty'ssloopInvestigator, at Spithead," to "proceed in her tothe coast of New Holland for the purpose of making a completeexamination and survey of the said coast, on the eastern side ofwhich His Majesty's colony of New South Wales issituated."

The circumstances which led to this step are interesting, andtheir record can scarcely fail to be instructive.

Shortly after the first settlement of criminals at PortJackson, in 1788, Captain Hunter, who had accompanied Phillip,the first Governor of New South Wales, made a survey of Botanyand Broken Bays and Port Jackson, with most of the rivers fallinginto them. In 1795, Hunter returned to New South Wales, asGovernor. He brought with him two vessels of war, theReliance and theSupply, and arrived at Sydney inDecember of that year. Flinders was then a midshipman, and Bass,a navigator equally intrepid, was surgeon in theReliance.The two joined in various expeditions—sometimes in an openboat, sometimes in a vessel hardly better, and together madetheir explorations along the coast. In this way they discoveredthat Van Diemen's Land, as it was then termed, was an island; andmade the passage of the straits, between it and Australia, namedafter Bass by Governor Hunter, at Flinders' express desire.Shortly after this, and upon Bass's return to England, Flinders,on his own proposition, was sent on the eastern coast in theNorfolk, a colonial sloop, of twenty-four tons. Hisprincipal object was

"to explore the Glass House and Hervey's Bays, twolarge openings to the northward, of which the entrances only wereknown. He had some hope of finding some river discharging itselfat one of these openings, and of being able by its means topenetrate further into the interior of the country than had beenbefore effected."

It is this voyage that first connects Flinders with thehistory of Queensland. We have two accounts of it written atdifferent periods by him, by collating which we are enabled togain a tolerably clear sight into the facilities he obtained andthe difficulties he encountered. On his return to Sydney he gavehis journal to Governor King, and its substance was published in1802, by Collins, in his "Account of the English Colony in NewSouth Wales, from its first settlement in January, 1788, toAugust, 1801."

In Flinders' own "Introduction" to the narrative of his secondvoyage, he only briefly and technically refers to this one. Ihave there, fore adopted the journal as most useful to mypurpose.

Flinders sailed from Sydney on July 8, 1799, and, on the 11th,discovered, but cannot be said to have explored, Shoal Bay,inasmuch as he saw nothing of the Clarence River. On the eveningof the 16th, he dropped anchor in Moreton, which he terms GlassHouse, Bay—"about two miles from a low sandy shore on thewest side." The next day he landed with a Port Jackson nativenamed "Bong-ree," or, as we should now spell it, "Bungaree," andendeavoured to enter into amicable communication with some of thenatives, who were watching their procedure; but, unfortunately,the overture on both sides ended in a skirmish, in which one ortwo of the aborigines were wounded. From this circumstanceFlinders gave the place the name of Point Skirmish, it being infact the southernmost point of Bribie Island. Leaving that point,he moved up the opening between Bribie Island and the mainland,which he mistook for a river, and from the quantity of pumicestone found at high water, called it the Pumice Stone River. Thesloop, which had sprung a leak on he 10th, was examined in themeantime, and a temporary stoppage having been effected, he againmade sail on the 17th, anchoring off a point which, front theredness of its cliffs, he called Redcliff Point. He then pulledover to a "green headland about two miles to the westward," butfound nothing noticeable save a native fishing net. Returningthence, he combined endeavouring to get further up the bay, andlanded on an island thirty-four miles from Cape Moreton, inlatitude 27° 33' 59" S. This he found to be two or three miles incircumference, the central part higher than the rest, and coveredwith a coat of fine vegetable mould of a reddish colour.

"The trees upon it, among which was the new pine,were large and luxuriant; beyond this island the bay wascontracted into a river of considerable width indeed, but itappeared to be so shoal, or, if there was any deep channel, sodifficult of access, that Mr. Flinders gave up all idea ofpursuing it further—especially as the winds wereobstinately adverse."

He, therefore, returned to Point Skirmish. It was probably theisland of St. Helena on which he landed.

On July 22, he got his sloop into the Pumice Stone. Here hehad her laid on shore and her cargo removed. By the 25th, he hadstopped the leak, reshipped the supplies, and made ready forsailing again. Out of the six weeks allotted to him, one wasentirely lost through the defects of theNorfolk.

This necessary work being effected, he landed and started forthe Glass House Peaks, and, ascending one of the smaller ones,took a view of the bay. He seems to have derived little benefitfrom his fatigues in the way of discovery; and he returned to theNorfolk on the 28th. He was detained by bad weather twomore days, and then sailed for Hervey's Bay.

"Having passed fifteen days in Glass House Bay, Mr.Flinders was enabled to form his judgment of it. It was so fullof shoals that he could not attempt to point out any passage thatwould lead a ship into it without danger. The east side of thebay had not been sounded—if any existed, it would probablybe found on that side."

His visit to Hervey's Bay at this time was so cursory, that itis scarcely worth referring to; and, after a hurried inspection,he sailed for Sydney, where he arrived on August 20.

Fifteen years elapsed between this voyage and the publicationof Flinders' narrative of his second exploration. It is a curiousinstance of the fallibility of human observation and memory,however keen and tried they may be, that we find this experiencednavigator, when recalling his impression of so many years back,in the epitome of his first voyage prefixed to his "narrative"thus concluding:—

"I must acknowledge myself to have been disappointedin not being able to penetrate into the interior of New SouthWales by either of the openings examined in this expedition; but,however mortifying the conviction might be, it was then anascertained fact, that no river of importance intersected theeast coast between the 24th and 39th degrees of southlatitude."

The language of his journal, written on the spot, is much lesspositive, and in fact, leaves the question favorably open asregards the shores of Moreton Bay. Some censure has been visitedon Flinders for a presumed negligence in his search; but in thisit does not seem just to concur. His sloop was leaky, and unfitfor the dangers which so intricate a navigation as that of theentrance to the Brisbane must have involved. His crew wassmall—only eight men—his time limited to six weeks,of which one was lost in the necessary repairs to his crazycraft, and the winds were adverse. Looking to his orders and hismeans, he had not the time or the power for the explorationrequired. What is, however, to be regretted, is, that the habitof acquiescence in the directions of his superiors, seems to haveled him to consider them as comprehending all that it wasdesirable he should do. What means he had he used well, but itdid not follow that those means were adequate; had they been so,and had he been less restricted, the "ascertained fact" mighthave been the River Brisbane—not the absence of any riveron a thousand miles of coast.

Shortly after Flinders returned to Sydney, theReliancewas ordered home, and on her arrival in England, in 1800,

"the charts of the new discoveries were published,and a plan was proposed to the Right Honorable Sir Joseph Banks,for completing the investigation of the coast of Terra Australis;the plan was approved by that distinguished patron of science anduseful enterprise; it was laid before Earl Spencer, then FirstLord Commissioner of the Admiralty, and finally received thesanction of His Majesty, who was graciously pleased to directthat the voyage should be undertaken; and I had the honor ofbeing appointed to the command." *

[* Introduction to narrative, p. 204.]

On June 21, as I have before said, the Admiralty instructionswere issued to Flinders. They were a strange jumble ofinconsistencies. He was to use his best endeavours to discoverharbors, and in case he found any "creek or opening" likely tolead to an inland sea, he was left at liberty to examine it, ornot, as he should judge expedient or as opportunity might serve.Much solicitude was expressed touching a plant cabin for thepurpose of sheltering boxes of earth in which were to be placed"during the survey, such plants, trees, shrubs, etc., as might bethought suitable for the Royal Gardens at Kew." An ancient sloop,theXenophon, crazy and unsound, became theInvestigator for the purpose of the voyage, and was,without doubt, deemed quite good enough for the employment towhich it was devoted; and theLady Nelson tender, then atSydney, a vessel of similar character, was to be placed underFlinders' command. An astronomer, a naturalist, a natural historypainter, a landscape painter, a gardener, and a miner, wereamongst the party who accompanied Flinders; but, considering theofficial piety of those days, I am somewhat surprised at notfinding a chaplain. William Westall, an artist of no mean note,was the landscape painter, and some of the illustrations to thenarrative do not detract from either his reputation, or that ofWoolnoth, the engraver. The whole number on board waseighty-eight. Flinders, with a forethought, whose motive mustexcite a smile at the present day, took "salt meat for eighteenmonths, knowing how little reliance could be placed on the colonyof New South Wales for that article;" and, to guard against anycontingencies, he left an application to the Admiralty for atwelve month's general supply, "to be sent after me, and lodgedin the store-houses at Port Jackson for our own use."

On July 18, 1801, theInvestigator sailed fromSpithead, and on December 7, was off Cape Leeuwin. Flinders thenleisurely surveyed the southern and eastern coasts—justmissing the honor of being the discoverer of PortPhillip—until he dropped anchor in Sydney Cove on Sunday,May 9, 1802. Here he found theLady Nelson waiting forhim. His preparations for the remainder of his voyage occupiedsome time, and such amusement as was to be enjoyed he and hisscientific friends participated in. He records with decorousgravity, that on June 4, being His Majesty's Birthday, GovernorKing gave "a splendid dinner to the colony, and the number ofladies, and civil, military, and naval officers was not less thanforty." But he seems to have neglected none of the more necessarydetails of his preliminary work. Some deficiencies in his owncrew were made up by probably "old salts," who were promisedconditional pardon should the report of their behaviour befavourable. The crew of theLady Nelson was composedalmost entirely of prisoners. The re-victualling of his shipoccasioned him some perplexity.

"The price of fresh meat at Port Jackson was soexorbitant, it was impossible to think of purchasing it on thepublic account. I obtained one quarter of beef for the ship'scompany in exchange for salt meat, and the Governor furnished uswith some baskets of vegetables from his garden. . . Inpurchasing a sea stock for the cabin. I paid £3 a-head for sheep,weighing from thirty to fifty pounds each when dressed. Pigs werebought at 9d. per pound, weighed alive; geese at 10s. each, andfowls at 3s.: and Indian corn for the stock cost 5s. a bushel. .. . From two American vessels which arrived, I purchased 1,483gallons of rum at 6s. 6d. per gallon, which, with what remainedof our former stock was a proportion for twelvemonths."

And thus provided and recruited, he set sail from Sydney forthe northern coast, on July 22, 1802, appointing Hervey's Bay asa port ofrendezvous for theLady Nelson.

Acting upon his impression that no rivers debouched intoeither Shoal Bay or Moreton Bay, he sailed past those openings,and reached Hervey's Bay in nine days. Port Curtis was his firstnoticeable discovery, and with some pains he explored the channelbetween that harbor and Keppel Bay. Of the soil in theneighbourhood he gave a cautious approval. Occasionally theexplorers had communications with the natives, of whom Flindersspeaks in friendly and almost flattering terms. He spent a shorttime at Port Bowen, of which Westall gives a spirited drawing;but was of opinion that not much could be said in praise of thecountry around it. Shoal Water Bay met with little higherappreciation; but Broad Sound he examined with more care. Heappears to have considered the neighbourhood between the soundand the bay as worth attention:—

"There seems, indeed, to be a considerable extent ofland about Broad Sound, and on the peninsula between it and ShoalWater Bay, which, if not calculated to give a rich return to thecultivator in wheat, would support much cattle, and producemaize, sugar, and tobacco; and cotton and coffee would grow uponthe more rocky sides of the hills—and, probably, even onLong Island."

He discusses, at some length, the best site for docks, thevalue of the timber, and the probability of metallic production,with a terse directness that contrasts favorably with the flowingplatitudes of the bulk of exploratory descriptions. Havingfinished his examination, he sailed for Torres Straits—thusmissing the Fitzroy and the fine country to the north—inorder to commence the survey of the now well-known Gulf ofCarpentaria. When he reached the Cumberland Isles, he wascompelled to send theLady Nelson back to Sydney.

"Instead of saving the crew of theInvestigator in case of accident, which was one of theprincipal objects of her attendance, it was too probable we mightbe called upon to render that assistance."

There is something odd in the comparison of craziness in thesevessels which such a remark suggests.

Sailing round Cape York, Flinders coasted down the Gulf, andon November 22, anchored in the channel between Bentinck's andSweer's Islands, which he named Investigator Roads. Here he hadhis ship examined, when to his alarm and vexation, he found herrotten from stem to stern. The master and the carpenterreported

"as their joint opinion, that in less than twelvemonths, there will scarcely be a sound timber in her, but that ifshe remain in fine weather, and happen no accident, she may runsix months without much risk."

It is impossible not to sympathise with the enthusiasticnavigator in his annoyance.

"I cannot," he says, "express the surprise and sorrowwhich this statement occasioned me. According to it, a return toPort Jackson was almost immediately necessary, as well to securethe journals and charts of the examinations already made as topreserve the lives of the ship's company; and my hopes ofascertaining, completely the exterior form of this immense and,in many points, interesting country, it not destroyed, would atleast be deferred to an unknown period."

But reflection brought back that determination which formed soprominent a feature in Flinders' character. He resolved tofinish, if possible, his survey of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and"when the fair wind should come to proceed by the west to PortJackson, if the ship should prove capable of a winter's passagealong the south coast; and if not, to make for the nearest portin the East Indies." He therefore coasted past the GrooteEylandte and Cape Arnheim, examining the bays as he passed, andexploring and naming Arnheim Bay, of which he speaks slightingly;and then, driven by sickness and fear of his vessel, he sailedfor Timor on March 6, 1803, to recruit his health and refit, sofar as refitment might avail. On the 10th of the following Junehe arrived in Port Jackson, when, on a survey of theInvestigator she was pronounced to be "not worth repairingin any country, and impossible to be made fit for sea."

His first purpose was to renew his voyage, but unable toobtain a fitting ship, he took passage for England. The vessel inwhich he sailed was wrecked, and he escaped with some difficulty,reaching Sydney in September. Here he obtained a smallbrig—theCumberland—and proceeded on hishomeward voyage through Torres Straits. He was compelled to putinto the Mauritius by the leaky condition of his ship, andanchored on December 17, 1803, in Port Louis. There he found ircommand one of the obnoxious products thrown up from the depthsby the French Revolution—a man of coarse manners, narrowmind, and ignorant assumption, named De Caen. He, at onceavailing himself of the pretext that the pass given by the FrenchGovernment was for theInvestigator, and not for theCumberland, professed to doubt Flinders' identity, treatedhim with great harshness, and detained him as a prisons] fornearly seven years, taking possession of theCumberland,and appropriating his papers as well. It was not till towards theend of October, 1810, that Flinders reached home, having beenreleased in the previous June. Various circumstances so hinderedhim, that his narrative was not published till May, 1814.

Here, so far as Queensland is concerned, the immediateinterest of that narrative terminates; but his connection withthe early surveys of our colony, the accuracy of his charts, andthe value of his investigation as data for succeeding navigatorsand explorers on the coast of Australia secure for Flinders avery high place in the list of those from whose labors we havebenefited. His remarks upon the nature of the country and uponthe natives with whom he came in contact, are interesting inthemselves, but not sufficiently important to warrant quotation,especially as his conjectures have long been superseded by theknowledge and experience of the explorers and settlers of our ownday.

After the termination, in 1815, of the long war which followedthe French Revolution, the attention of the British Governmentwas again turned to the examination of the Australian coasts, andLieutenant Phillip Parker King was chosen for the work. He wasdirected to proceed to Sydney, where the then Governor,Major-General Macquarie, was to provide him with a vessel andcrew; and the well-known Allan Cunningham, the botanist andexplorer, was sent with him. The old notion of discovering someriver likely to lead to an interior navigation of Australia,seems, from the instructions given to King, to have stronglyimpressed itself on the Admiralty. King sailed from Sydney in theMermaid on December 22, 1817, to survey Bass' Straits andthe western coast. Returning, he started for the eastern coast inMay, 1820, Rodd's Bay seems the only special discovery made byhim on this voyage. On a third survey he simply amplified andcorrected his preceding work, finishing his cruise on April, 25,1822. His painstaking diligence and accuracy of observation, havesecured him a high reputation among our best hydrographers, and aconsiderable mass of valuable material was collected by him andCunningham. One result of these voyages was the attempt to form aBritish settlement at Port Essington on the northern coast,which, after much outlay and trouble, was abandoned. Beyondcasual mention, its history scarcely deserves connection withthat of Queensland; although of late years, and in connectionwith South Australia, it has acquired some notoriety as PortDarwin.

After King's voyage the desirability of further exploration onour eastern and northern coast—except as it presenteditself to a few enthusiastic geographers—seems to havefaded away. What, however, the love of science or the demands ofcuriosity could not obtain, was at length granted to thenecessities of a penal settlement. Twenty-one years afterFlinders entered Port Curtis, the existing establishments underthe Government of New South Wales proving inadequate to thedemands created by the increasing shipment of criminals from thehome country, his discoveries were turned to, in the hope offinding a suitable spot towards the north for a new penal depôt.He had spoken not unfavourably of the country in thatneighbourhood, and after some consideration, the thenSurveyor-General of New South Wales, Lieutenant Oxley wasdespatched in the oldMermaid, repaired and fitted for thepurpose, in quest of an available site. He left Sydney on October23, 1823, and anchored in Port Curtis on the 5th of the followingNovember. There he occupied sixteen days in "a minute examinationof the south-west coast of this port, extending from the northhead of Bustard Bay to Mount Lawson." South from Gatcombe Head he"discovered a rapid mountain stream, which received the name ofthe Boyne, and then examined the country around;" but as theresult of his minute researches, he came to the opinion that PartCurtis afforded no site eligible for a settlement.* The countryin the vicinity of Road's Bay, he viewed with like disapproval,and disappointed and discontented, sailed for Moreton Bay, wherehe anchored on November 25. Here an unexpected consolationawaited him.

[* The value of Oxley's opinion on such points isquestionable. On another occasion he is found saying, "We haddemonstrated beyond a doubt that no river could fall into the seabetween Cape Otway and Spencer's Gulf—at least nonederiving its waters from the eastern coast—and that thecountry south of the parallel of 34° and west of the meridian141° 30' east was uninhabitable and useless for the purposes ofcivilised man." The country thus condemned by wholesale,comprises one of the finest portions of the present colony ofVictoria, including Gippsland and its lakes.]

"Early on the 2nd of December following," says hisreport, "when examining Moreton Bay, we had the satisfaction tofind the tide sweeping us up a considerable inlet between thefirst mangrove island and the mainland. The muddiness and thetaste of the water, together with the abundance of fresh watermolluscs, assured us we were entering a large river, and a fewhours ended our anxiety on that point by the water becoming quitefresh, while no diminution had taken place in the size of theriver after passing what I called 'Sea Roach.' "

The river thus entered was the Brisbane.

But there was a good deal of disingenuousness, and almostdishonesty, in this report. The first fresh water molluscæ appearto me to have been two poor fishermen named Pamphlet andFinnigan, who had left Sydney with two others in the previousMarch, to fetch cedar from the Five Islands, to the south of PortJackson. A gale of wind drove them out to sea; and aftersuffering great hardships—one of the party dying ofthirst—the survivors were cast upon Bribie Island. One ofthem started to find his way to New South Wales, and was nevermore heard of, and the two named were compelled to stay with theblacks. From these men Oxley received intelligence of a largeriver falling into the south end of the bay which they hadcrossed. He immediately acted upon it, and taking Finnigan withhim, met with the fresh water molluscæ, and the usual phenomenonof fresh water, also in the Brisbane itself, only twenty milesfrom its mouth.** It would not have detracted from Mr. Oxley'sreputation had he frankly admitted the value of the informationgained from Pamphlet and Finnigan, and been content with themerit of perseveringly following up their accidental discovery.His report was silent upon that portion of the business; and hereturned to Sydney to receive the thanks of the Government, andthe congratulations of his friends. Whether the two poorfishermen ever even knew the value of the service they hadrendered, has not, that I can find, been recorded.

[** See Narrative of Oxley's Expedition, byUniacke in "New South Wales." London 1820.]

Oxley's report—exaggerated and incorrect as itwas—produced considerable sensation, not only in thecolony, but on its publication at home, in much wider and betterinformed circles. He told the world of a noble river—notsubject to floods, probably navigable for vessels of burden fiftymiles beyond the termination of his journey, and that terminationseventy miles from Bribie Island. The width of the river at thepoint where he commenced his return, he reported as half-a-mile,and its depth at eight fathoms. Exaggerations like these renderit difficult to determine how far he really did ascend theBrisbane, or whether he reached its first largetributary—the Bremer—as subsequently supposed byMajor Lockyer. The Brisbane is a noble and beautiful streamwithout being able to lay claim to all the attributes with whichMr. Oxley's imagination invested it. His theory as to its source,being based upon the assumption that it did not take its rise inmountainous country, need not be further alluded to.

But upon all these points, no contradiction could be, or atall events was, at the time given to him: nor did it much matterto the then Governor of New South Wales, whether the river was amile or a quarter of a mile wide sixty miles from its mouth. SirThomas Brisbane was relieved from a difficulty by the discoveryof a suitable locality for his new penal settlement, and probablynot displeased that the newly-discovered river was named in hishonor. So Moreton Bay was fixed upon as a fit position for afresh prison, and the process of civilisation, according to thecustom of those days, began. Fifty-five years had passed sinceCook first saw and named Cape Moreton; sixteen years of miserableoccupancy by a wretched population were to come.

{Page 15}

CHAPTER II.

1824-1839.

General Character of PenalEstablishments—First Settlement of Convicts in1821—Logan's Government—Allan Cunningham's Discoveryof the Darling Downs in 1827—Logan's settlement ofIpswich—Cunningham's Discovery of the Route from the Coastover the Dividing Range to the Interior—Murder ofLogan—Visit of the "Friends" Backhouse and Walker in1835—Dr. Lang's Establishment of the Moravian Mission tothe Aborigines—Withdrawal of the Prisoners and preparationfor a Free Settlement.

To a great extent, the history of onepenal settlement is the history of all penal settlements. Theline of demarkation between keeper and criminal was strong anddistinct, and it became gradually a settled thing that, whether aconvict might or might not be occasionally right, the mastercould never be wrong. The result was natural. The consciousnessof impunity for the governor, and of degradation in the governed,could not but tend to lessen the care with which authority wasexercised, and the perception of just cause for its exertion. Thebeginning of wrong, as much as of strife, is like the pouringforth of water; and when the personal feeling which, in a smallcommunity, and more in such a community, must result from everypunishment, whether inflicted justly or unjustly, was onceroused, every repetition of offence and its consequent suffering,not only widened the distance between the judge and the offender,but deadened the sense of justice and appreciation of guilt; andthus, by insensible degrees, a hardness of feeling has been foundto spring up in all these settlements, equally in the gaoler asin the prisoners. They became "stern to inflict and stubborn toendure," without much reference to anything but facility ofinfliction and capacity of endurance. The authorities driftedinto cruelty, and the criminals deepened in crime.

Looking at such influences as almost inseparable from thesystem upon which the penal settlement of Moreton Bay wasgoverned, I am not so much inclined to consider the successivecommandants as either naturally or consciously the tyrants theyhave been described, and possibly in some cases were; or all theprisoners as the refuse of human kind. What a differentdiscipline might have resulted in, it is useless now to speculateupon. The Christian virtues are not. I presume, supposed to grownaturally in any purgatory, or the moral perceptions to bequickened by an enforced abstinence from every ostensible kind ofmental occupation. That, from 1824 to 1839, Moreton Bay must havebeen a place of torment to every conscientious man of rightfeeling in it, can scarcely be doubted, when we consider thefacts as to either Government or conduct which have been allowedto escape from the dark secrecy at first enforced to concealstill darker deeds, and since acquiesced in from a sense ofcommon disgrace.

It may be admitted, without offence to the feelings of thosewho remain of the advocates or opponents of transportation duringthe long struggle which preceded its abolition, that the generalraault of that system was deteriorative of the moral sense of thecolonies in the same manner as the existence of slavery, whileoppressive and degrading to the slave, was gradually lowering themoral perceptions of the slave-holder. In the newspapers ofMoreton Bay, for instance, subsequent to the cessation oftransportation to New South Wales. I see more than one record ofmeetings held in favor of the introduction of exiles, as it wascalled, at which that introduction was enforced wholly from apresumed necessity for cheap labor.* And I am quite sure that,whatever might be the fashionable phraseology in the thencolonial circles, where full publicity obtained, the advocacy oftransportation as a secondary punishment arose more from a beliefin its value as furnishing a supply of cheap labor than from anyother cause. A species, if not of contempt, at least ofdisregard, for the feelings and rights of their servants,naturally are among those accustomed to the enforced labor ofprisoners. On the other hand, the servitude thus compiled was, inthe great majority of instances, a series of deceptions andshifts to avoid the labour imposed, When a harsh employerresorted to extreme measures, so did his servants; the oneappealed to the magistrates for vengeance, the other ran away.This state of relation between employer and employed was a sadcontrast to the freedom of engagement and reciprocity ofobligation which prevails in a free community, and it is quiteimpossible that it could have existed so long without amischievous influence on both classes. It is fortunate that theabsolute isolation of Moreton Bay during the penal portion of itsexistence, and the cessation of the penal transportation systemprior to its being thrown open as a free settlement, greatlymitigated the effects of that system to this colony.

[* I take from a report in theMoreton BayCourier of February 27, 1847, the following inillustration:—It was absolutely that labourers should beintroduced into this district. It was only those who resided inthe squatting districts who felt severely the present deficiencyof labor: it was the great expense to which they were subjectedin procuring that, had induced him, and others with energeticmeasures for facilitating the introduction of laborers from NorthAustralia or Van Dieman's Land into this district."—Speechat a meeting held at Ipswich, February 22, 1847. North Australiawas the name proposed for an intended new penal settlement.]

But that isolation, while it lasted, led to great cruelty. Ihave heard narratives of punishment so ingenious in theirrefinement of torture, that I am almost disinclined to givecredence to the facts they embodied; and yet, from the generalconcurrence of testimony, can hardly refuse assent And, moreover,statements of the kind involve the citation of authority—acitation in most cases from the evidence of sufferers, and,therefore, it these days, almost as grievous as the originalinfliction, It seems almost indispensable to abstain fromparticular instances, although the general conclusions I havederived are exceedingly unfavourable to the commandants of theday. Only, therefore, when proved by independent evidence of theneglect or cruelty of officials, will either be alluded to.

As I have said, Oxley's report of his discoveries met withhigh admiration; but whether from the superior weight attached tothe authority of Flinders, or from his own misgivings, the firstsettlement was ordered to be not on the shores of the Brisbane,but on the land named by Flinders, Redcliff Point. The brig Amitywas sent from Sydney in September, 1824, having on board Mr.Oxley and Lieutenant Millar, with detachment of the 40th, havingin charge thirty prisoners, to make the necessary preparations.But the site being found objectionable, a party was sent up theBrisbane to find a more eligible spot. They landed some where inwhat we now call Petrie's Bight, and found what they were itsearch of. The establishment was accordingly removed, and thefirst stet towards the foundation of the City of Brisbane wasthus taken. Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane shortly after visitedthe infant settlement and approved of the new site, ordering,however, that the buildings already erected at RedcliffPoint—such as they were—should be left for the use ofthe natives. The natives showed their matter-of-fact appreciationof the legacy by naming the abandoned place "Humpy Bong," whichmay be freely translated "the dead houses;" and in process oftime the "dead houses" disappeared: I believe but few traces ofthem remain.

For little more than a year the settlement went on in theusual slow process of receiving additional drafts of convicts,and settling them to the useless and monotonous employments ofthe day: but in 1825, Captain Logan, of the 57th regiment, wassent to take charge. He seems to have been a man of great energyand indomitable will, but, as is often the case with men thusendowed, of irritable temperament, and when excited, ofungovernable passion. During his government most of the oldconvict buildings were erected. The prisoners' barracks—theinscrutable looking structure we call our observatory, then usedas a windmill—a treadmill in close proximity, an hospital,a receiving store, and four separate convict stations, were alldue to his energetic activity. He first discovered the rivernamed after him on the south-eastern side of the bay, on thebanks of which we have now a considerable and thrivingpopulation. I am sorry to have to record, that on his return fromthis discovery, wearied and hungry, some breach of disciplinebeing reported to him, his success inspired no feeling of lenitytowards the unhappy prisoners. A few years ago there was still inSouth Brisbane an old pine stump, the remnants of a tree towhich, on this occasion, all who were complained of were tied,and suffered the unsparing infliction of the lash.

Logan's energy was not well seconded, nor indeed, was his ownzeal always according to knowledge. Valueless land was clearedbecause the overseers, being rewarded in proportion to quantity,chose the worst and most lightly wooded, and sometimes usefultimber was destroyed to obtain worthless land, for, as in ourpine forests, the two are often found together. There arewell-established anecdotes of one of his superintendents sowingthe dressed rice of commerce on Eagle Farm in full expectancy ofa crop; and of another, on being asked for a saw-set, referringthe applicant to the grindstone. With such assistants, it is notto be wondered at, that jetties were built where they wereunapproachable by vessels, and vessels completed where it wasimpossible to launch them. There was much in all this, inaccordance with the practice of all penal colonies, which seemsto have been to find employment for the convicts; how, or uponwhat, being quite a secondary question.

In the first year of Logan's commandantship, he was visited byMajor Lockyer, an officer of his own regiment. During his stay inthe settlement, Lockyer explored the Brisbane to its junctionwith one of its principal tributaries, although which, seemsuncertain. The creek now named after him can scarcely have beenthe one, for he represents the Brisbane and the Lockyer asnavigable for a whale boat for one hundred and thirty miles fromthe mouth of the former, the last fifty miles being upon theLockyer itself. Only in very rainy seasons would the Lockyer benavigable one mile continuously, and, at these times, thestrength of the flood would be such as to render the passage of aboat up it altogether impossible. It is not improbable that herowed up the Bremer, and mistook it for the higher tributary.But, accuracy was by no means a necessary attribute of thenarratives of some of the travellers of those early days.

While Logan was alternately exploring and botanising, andflogging, in the Moreton Bay district, Allan Cunninghampenetrated the interior from another direction, and discoveredthe Darling Downs. Previously to the year 1827, the large tractof country "lying on the western side of the Great DividingRange, between Hunter's River, in latitude 32°. and Moreton Bay,latitude 27° south," was unknown. Oxley had, at one time,contemplated an expedition in that direction, but sickness andinfirmity had gained upon him apace, and prevented his activeparticipation in the work. The Government of New South Wales,seeing the possible advantages that might result, furnished anadequate equipment for five months, and placed the expeditionunder the direction of Cunningham. On April 20, 1827, he startedfrom a station on the Upper Hunter. New South Wales, thenceskirting the Liverpool Plains, and crossing a river which he atfirst thought the Peel River of Oxley, but subsequently named theGwydir, he continued in a northerly, and afterwards in anorth-easterly, direction through a country parched by drought,until he reached a second river, which he named the Dumaresq.Thence being driven by the sterility of the district in a moreeasterly direction, he reached, on June 5,—

"the confines of a superior country. It wasexceedingly cheering to my people, after they had traversed awaste, oftentimes of the most forbiddingly arid character, for aspace more or less of eighty miles, and had borne with noordinary patience a degree of privation to which I had well nighsacrificed the weaker of my horses, to observe from a ridge whichlay on our course, that they were within a day's march of openclowns of unknown extent, which stretched easterly to the base ofa lofty range of mountains, distant apparently about twenty-fivemiles. On the 6th and following day, we travelled throughout thewhole extent of these plains to the following of the mountainsextending along their eastern side, and the following is thesubstance of my observation on their extent, soil, andcapability.

"These extensive tracts of clear pastoral country, which weresubsequently named Darling Downs, in honor of His Excellency theGovernor, are situated on or about the mean parallel of 28° S.,along which they stretch east eighteen statute miles to themeridian of 152°. Deep ponds, supported by streams from the highlands immediately to the eastward, extend along their centrallower flats, and these, when united in a wet season, become anauxiliary to the Condamine river, a stream which winds its coursealong the south-western margin. The downs, we remarked, varied inbreadth in different parts of their lengthened surface; at theirwestern extremity they appeared not to exceed a mile and a half,while towards their eastern limits their width might be estimatedat three miles. The lower ground, thus permanently watered,presents flats which furnish an almost inexhaustible range ofcattle pasture at all seasons of the year: the grasses andherbage generally exhibiting, in the depth of winter, anextraordinary luxuriance of growth. From these central grounds,rise downs of a rich black and dry soil, and of very amplesurface; and as they furnish an abundance of grass, and areconveniently watered, yet perfectly beyond the reach of thosefloods which take place on the flats in a season of rains, theyconstitute a valuable and sound sheep pasture. We soon reachedthe base of some hills connected laterally with that stupendouschain of mountains, the bold outline of which we had beheld withso much interest during the three preceding days. These hills wefound clothed from their foot upwards with an underwood of thedensest description, in the midst of which, and especially on theridges, appeared a pine which I immediately discovered to be thesame species as that observed in 1842, on the Brisbane river.Encamping, I ascended a remarkable square-topped mount, whichformed the termination of one of these ridges, and from itssummit had a very extensive view of the country lying betweennorth and south towards the west. At N. and N.N.W., we observed asuccession of heavily timbered ridges extending laterally fromthe more elevated chain of mountains immediately to the east,which evidently forms the great dividing range in this part ofthe country, whilst from the north-west to west and thence tosouth, within a range of twenty miles, a most beautifullydiversified landscape, made up of hill and dale, woodland andplain, appeared before us.

"Large patches of land, perfectly clear of trees, lying to thenorth of Darling Downs, were named Peel's Plains, whilst others,bearing to the south and south-east, and which presented anundulated surface, with a few scattered trees, were named afterthe late Mr. Canning. Directing our view beyond Peel's Plains tothe north-west, an expanse of flooded country met the eye,evidently a continuation of those vast levels which we hadfrequently observed in the progress of our journey, extending tothe westward of our line of route, and which, it was nowperceived, were continued northerly, at least to the parallel of27°.

"In a valley which led to the immediate base of the mountainbarrier, I fixed my northernmost encampment, determining, as Ihad not the means of advancing further in consequence of thestate of my provisions, and the low condition of my horses, toemploy a short period in a partial examination of the principalrange, to the western base of which we had penetrated from thesouthward through a considerable portion of barren interior. Inexploring the mountains immediately above our tents, with a viewmore especially of ascertaining how far a passage could beeffected over them to the shores of Moreton Bay, a remarkableexcavated part of the Main Range was discovered, which appearedlikely to prove a very practicable pass through these mountainsto the eastward.*

[* Interior discovery of New South Wales, byAllan Cunningham, Esq., Journal of Royal Geographical Society,vol. ii., p. 3.—The "excavated part," mentioned in thetext, is the remarkable one in the Main Range, visible fromWindmill Hill, Brisbane, and now very properly named"Cunningham's Gap."]

I have been thus copious in extracting Cunningham'sdescription of the Darling Downs, although it has been frequentlyquoted before, not only because its unassuming accuracy contrastsso remarkably with the inflated glorification of so many otherexplorers, but also because his discovery exerted a far greaterinfluence upon the progress of the colony than any made by hiscontemporaries, or almost by his successors. In fact, I know ofnone in Australia that can be compared to it in that respect,save, perhaps, the finding of gold upon the advance of Victoria.It was really the opening of that vast expanse of territorywhich, running northerly and to the west of the Dividing Range,now supports its sheep in millions, and is yet in the infancy ofdevelopment. I am not aware whether the gentlemen whose stationsspread over the Downs have paid the fitting tribute toCunningham's memory of a memorial on the spot where hisnorthernmost camp was fixed; but, if not, it is to be presumedthat want of the requisite information has alone prevented thisbeing done. That such an obstacle shall exist no longer, I noticethat the site of that camp was determined by Cunningham to belatitude 28° 10" 45' S.; longitude 152° 7" 45' E.; variation ofthe compass 8° 18" E.

On June 16, Cunningham put his people in motion on his returnhomeward. He attempted to shape a more easterly course than thathe had arrived by, but soon became involved in a mountainous andfrightful region from which he had some difficulty in extricatinghis party. At length, attaining a lower level, he was enabled topursue his journey, and reached his point of departure, thirteenweeks after leaving it. On reporting his discoveries to theGovernment, they directed their attention to a search for somecommunication between the new country and the coast, and anexpedition to test its practicability was resolved upon, theconduct of which was again committed to Cunningham.

In the meantime Logan had not been idle. He traced the BremerRiver from its junction with the Brisbane to the site of thepresent town of Ipswich, which, from the nature of the hills inits vicinity, he designated the Limestone Hills. To utilise thelimestone was the next step, and a kiln was built, andlime-burning commenced. These operations were disturbed by theaborigines, to protect the burners from whom a few soldiers werestationed at the place. Logan found the lime useful in hisbuilding operations, and Cunningham narrates, that from 300 to400 bushels were burned weekly at the station, and conveyed toBrisbane by boats. Coal was also found, both above and below thehomestead station, and on the banks of creeks dipping to theBremer, as well as in the bed of the river itself.

In 1828, Cunningham left Port Jackson for Moreton Bay, toascertain the possibility of connecting the coast with theinterior. Immediately on his arrival, Logan and himself attemptedto reach the Gap by following up the course of the Logan River,and by Mount Lindsay. In this they were foiled; but, after ashort interval of rest, Cunningham again started—this timealone—following up the line of the Bremer, and its maintributary, in a westerly direction. He left the settlement onAugust 18, and in a week reached the Gap.

"The summit of the pass appeared before us, boundedon each side by most stupendous heads, towering at least 2,000feet above it. Here the difficulties of the passage commenced. Wehad now penetrated to the actual foot of the pass without thesmallest difficulty; it now remained to ascend by a steep slopeto the level of its entrance. This slope is occupied by a veryclose wood in which red cedar, sassafras, palms, and otherornamental intertropical trees are frequent. Through this shadedwood we penetrated, climbing up a steep bank of very rich looseearth in which large fragments of a very compact rock (awhinstone) are bedded. At length we gained the foot of a wall ofbare rock which we found stretching from the southward into thepass. This face of naked rock we perceived (by tracing its basenortherly) gradually to fall to the common level, so that,without the smallest difficulty, and to my utmost surprise, wefound ourselves on the highest part of the pass, having fullyascertained the extent of the difficult part from the entranceinto the wood to this point not to exceed 400 yards. We nowpushed our way through this extraordinary defile, and in lessthan half a mile of level surface, clothed with a thick brush ofplants common to the Brisbane River, reached the opposite side ofthe Main Range, when I observed the water fall westerly toMiller's Valley beneath us. Climbing the northern summit of MountMitchell, which bounds the pass on the south, it was with nosmall pleasure that I passed my eye over the beautiful tract ofcountry at which my labors of last year had closed."*

[* M.S. report to His Excellency GovernorDarling, in the archives of the Colonial Secretary's Office,Sydney, New South Wales, as quoted by Dr. Lang, in his"Cooksland,", p. 71.]

Having thus established the practicability of communicationfrom the Downs to the sea-board, Cunningham returned to Sydney,and laid the journal of his expedition before the Governor, SirRalph Darling. In the following year he again made a voyage toMoreton Bay, botanical research being the main object of hisjourney; but he—

"found a short period of his leisure to devote togeographical enquiry; and accordingly, in an excursion to thenorth-west, I explored that stream (the Brisbane) far towards itssource, through an irregular country, which presented muchdiversity of surface to interest the geographer. During thatshort journey, in which I employed a small party about six weeks,I traced the principal branch of the river as far as latitude 26°52', until the channel assumed the character of a chain of veryshallow stagnant pools. In this excursion I made suchobservations as fully established two facts, viz.—That theBrisbane River, at one period supposed ** to be the outlet of themarshes of the Macquarie, &c., originates on the eastern sideof the Dividing Range, its chief sources being in elevated landslying almost on the coast line between the parallels of 26° and27°; and that the main ranges which separate the coast watersfrom those that flow inland continue to the north in one unbrokenchain as far as the eye could discern from a commanding stationnear my most distant encampment up the river, and present noopening or hollow part in their elevated ridge through which toadmit of a road being made to the interior beyond them. My pass,therefore, through those lofty mountains—the mean elevationof which above the shores of Moreton Bay, cannot be less than4,000 feet—seems thus the only opening to the interiorcountry, from the coast, between the parallels of 26° and 29°south." ***

[** By Oxley.]

[*** Interior discovery in New South Wales,R.G.S. Journal, vol. ii., pp. 117, 118.]

In this last journey of Cunningham in the Moreton Baydistrict, he had three collisions with the natives, seeminglywithout the slightest provocation on his side. His humanity wasas conspicuous as his courage in these encounters, which resultedin no great damage to the explorers or their assailants. Hisopinion as to the impracticability of reaching the Downs from theseaward, except by the "Gap," has been refuted by subsequentexperience, which will be narrated in its proper place. But I amnot surprised that he arrived at that erroneous conclusion, for,from the peculiar overlapping of the spurs which project eastwardfrom the Main Range—in some cases for manymiles—there is not, that I am aware, a single breakperceptible from the plains below, except the "Gap" in themountain wall, between the parallels he mentions.

When Cunningham had completed his task, in the discovery of aline of communication between Brisbane and the Downs, and thusincreased a hundredfold the value of that great pastoralinterior, the zeal of the Government seems to have cooled, andnothing was done till long afterwards to improve the naturalfacilities, or reduce the natural difficulties of the route. Theprincipal object of the local authorities appears to have beenthe perfect isolation of the settlement (approach to which,within fifty miles, was strictly prohibited), and this so far asthey could they vigorously maintained. Captain Logan continuedhis botanical and exploratory surveys, and his iron severityuntil October, 1830, when he was murdered while absent on a shortexpedition. He had left his camp in the morning, and, notreturning, the men attached to his party, searching withouteffect, returned and reported his loss. Captain Clunie, the nextin command, sent a party out, who, on the fifth day of theirsearch, came upon the dead body of Logan, pierced with a spear,and beaten with waddies. Much indignation has been levelled atthe "cruel and ferocious blacks," who were assumed to have beenthe murderers; but there seems reason to suppose that thecontemporary rumours of participation in the murder, by some ofthe white criminals, were not altogether unfounded. So far as Ihave been able to ascertain, that impression still remains amongthe few survivors of that period. Logan's body was conveyed toSydney and received the honor of a public funeral.

After Logan's death, Captain Clunie (of the 17th) succeeded tothe commandantship, which he held about four years, during whichtime the course of events in the settlement proper, presentednothing but its ordinary monotonous round. On his removal in1835, he was succeeded by Captain Fyans (of the 4th), whoremained only two years. Some of the most interesting memoranda Ihave been able to collect touching the penal period, I havederived from the journal of a visit to Moreton Bay during histenure of office, published in London in 1843. The writer, JamesBackhouse, a benevolent Quaker, accompanied by his friend GeorgeWashington Walker, who afterwards settled in Tasmania, leftEngland in 1831, and spent nearly seven years in travellingthrough the known Australian settlements of the day. Actuated, inthe quaint language of the recommendatory letters of the society,by an apprehension of religions duty resting on their minds tovisit in the love of the Gospel some of the inhabitants of theBritish colonies of New Holland, Van Diemen's Land, and SouthAfrica, these benevolent minded men did not spare themselves inthe execution of their design. At some risk, and with somepersonal fatigue they travelled during nearly seven years throughNew South Wales and Tasmania, and visited Norfolk Island, and theresult of their impressions, while not wanting in shrewdness, issingularly free from acrimonious or unnecessary censure. In thefourth year of their journeyings, they obtained permission fromSir Richard Bourke, at the time Governor of the colony, to visitMoreton Bay, where they arrived in 1836, and were received byCaptain Fyans with "all the attention and accommodation ourcircumstances required." Their attention was first directed tothe settlement, and I extract their description of Brisbane as itappeared to them.

"3rd month, 29th day:—After making ahearty breakfast, we set out to inspect the settlement of what iscalled Brisbane Town: it consists of the houses of the Commandantand other officers, the barracks for the military, and those forthe male prisoners, a treadmill, stores, &c. It is prettilysituated on the north bank of the River Brisbane, which isnavigable fifty miles further up for small sloops, and has somefine cleared and cultivated land on the south side bank oppositethe town. Adjacent to the Government House, are the Commandant'sgarden, and twenty-two acres of Government gardens for the growthof sweet potatoes, cabbages, and other vegetables for theprisoners. Bananas, grapes, guavas, pine apples, citrons, lemons,shaddocks, etc., thrive luxuriantly in the open ground. Theclimate being nearly tropical, sugar canes are grown for fencing,and there are a few thriving coffee plants, but not old enough tobear fruit. The bamboo and Spanish reed have been introduced. . .Coffee and sugar will probably at some time be cultivated ascrops. The surrounding country is undulating and covered withtrees. To the west there is a range of high woody hills distant,in a direct line, four miles. . . . The treadmill is generallyworked by twenty-five prisoners at a time, but when it is used asa special punishment, sixteen are kept upon it fourteen hours,with only the interval of release afforded by four being off at atime in succession. They feel this extremely irksome at first,but, notwithstanding the warmth of the climate, they become sofar accustomed to the labour by long practice as to bear thetreadmill with comparatively little disgust, after working uponit for a considerable number of days. Many of the prisoners wereoccupied in landing cargoes of maize or Indian corn from a fielddown the river, and others in divesting it of the husks. To ourregret, we heard an officer swearing at the men, and using otherimproper and exasperating language. The practice is forbidden bythe Commandant; but it is not uncommon, and, in its effects, is,perhaps, equally hardening to those who are guilty of it, andthose who are under them. . . . We visited the prisoners'barracks—a large stone building, calculated to accommodate1,000 men, but now occupied by 311. We also visited thepenitentiary for female prisoners, seventy-one of whom are here.Most of them, as well as of the men, have seen re-transported forcrimes that have been nurtured by strong drink. The women wereemployed in washing, needlework, picking oakum, and nursing. Afew of them were very young. Many of them seemed far fromsensible of their miserable condition." *

[* Narrative of a visit to the AustralianColonies, by James Backhouse. London, 1843.]

We read at this day, with some surprise, not unmixed withpity, that at the Eagle Farm establishment there were fortyfemales employed in field labor. They were kept in closeconfinement during the night, and strictly watched in the daytime; yet it was found very difficult to maintain order. Somewore chains to keep them from absconding. What the life must havebeen that rendered association with the blacks of Moreton Baypreferable to its endurance, must be left to those who choose todwell upon the subject to conceive. Any reformatory effect musthave been equally beyond expectation and possibility; and to saythe truth, there seems to have been little effort in thatdirection. Backhouse nowhere mentions an official religiousinstructor as resident on the settlement.

"4th month, 1st day, being the day called GoodFriday,' no work was exacted from the prisoners, but they, withthe military and civil officers, whether Protestant or RomanCatholic, assembled as on First days in the chapel,** when theprayers and lessons of the Episcopal Church, with a few omissionsin deference to the Roman Catholics, were read in a becomingmanner by the superintendent of convicts." And, "at Eagle Farm,we again visited the female prisoners, for whom a selection oftracts were left with their superintendent; they expressedthankfulness for them, being very destitute of books—evenof Bibles, which the prisoners generally have not access to evenon First days."

[** For many years used as a Supreme Court House,and for other official purposes, but now (1881) pulled down andthe site sold.]

When leaving the settlement Messrs. Backhouse and Walker weredetained at the Pilot Station by contrary winds, and they landedat Amity Point for change, as well as for the performance oftheir self-imposed duties. This occurring in April, the weatherwas hot, and the travellers gave some handkerchiefs to the boat'screw in acknowledgment of their services.

"Though prisoners, they may be allowed to wipe theperspiration from their faces with them; but so strict is thediscipline, that they would not be allowed to tie them roundtheir necks Some of the soldiers and prisoners applied fortracts, which they received gratefully along with a fewbooks—including a Testament. They are very destitute ofbooks, the only Bible I heard of at the station belonging to thepilot." *

[* "While in Moreton Bay we were surprised byhearing the blacks call biscuits 'five islands'; this, welearned, arose from some men who, several years ago, were drivenfrom the part of the Illawarra coast, called the Five Islands,having held up biscuit to the blacks, and sail 'five islands,' inthe hope of learning from them the direction of their lost home.The blacks, however, mistook this for the name of the biscuits,and hence have continued to call them by thatname."—Narrative, page 377. These men were, nodoubt, Pamphlet Finnegan, and Parsons, before referred to inconnection with the discovery of the Brisbane.]

Messrs. Backhouse and Walker left the shores of Moreton Bay onApril 17, 1836; after their departure, as far as I can find, thesettlement remained, with one exception, unvisited until theopening of the district for immigration, save by prisoners andofficials and small vessels bringing the necessary supplies; and,at a later period, a favoured few who obtained permission toreside for purposes of trade.

From the time of Messrs. Backhouse and Walker's visit, thedistrict seems for a time to have slept the dead sleep of inanecriminality. No improvement was made in its material condition,and no labour was entered upon tending towards it. At the timethe convict establishment was formally broken up, every recordthat might have thrown light upon the procedure of the precedingsixteen years, was carefully removed, and the miserabledilapidation of the buildings left, was the sole testimony thatremained of the indolent apathy with which the resources of adying-out system were employed in the latter days of itsexistence. I have seen one book of memoranda, by which it wouldseem, from the kind and quantity of tailoring and cobblingrecorded, that the higher class of officials were not unmindfulof the value of an economically supplied wardrobe. In fact, fromall I can learn, the prisoners when not employed on suchcultivation as was indispensable, were generally engaged in themost useless possible avocations. As to moral improvement, we mayjudge of the effort made towards it by the good Quakers'narrative. When even the formality of an official religiousinstruction was omitted, books almost unknown, and all labourreduced to a mere mechanical routine of the simplest and dullestkind, it is not to be wondered at, that the criminal becamedesperately wicked, the simple idiotic, and the active mad. Theywho emerged from that slough fit for association with theordinary society of a civilised community, deserve far greatercredit than most of their one-time gaolers; for such an escapemust be rewarded as in direct opposition to the inevitableinfluences of the system those gaolers were appointed to, anddid, encourage and enforce.

What, however, was denied to the criminal population, theenthusiasm of some German missionaries, aided by a man whose nameis identified with the history of Australia—the late Rev.Dr. Lang—attempted to supply to the aborigines.

"Two regularly ordained ministers, both married, andten lay missionaries, most of whom were also married, and all ofwhom had been for some time in training for the work ofmissionaries to the heathen," *

[* Lang's Cooksland, p. 465.]

formed a party, who arrived in Moreton Bay in 1838. £450 wasobtained from the Imperial Government towards their expenses, andby an arrangement made by Dr. Lang with a relative, another £150became available under the then immigration laws of New SouthWales. A moderate quantity of land was set aside for the purposesof the mission, about seven miles from the settlement, and there,under circumstances of much hardship, and sometimes of absoluteprivation, the German mission commenced its work.

During all this time the general tendency of circumstances wastowards the opening of the district as a free settlement. Therapid increase in the flocks and herds of the New South Walessquatters drove them to enlarge their borders, and thediscoveries of Cunningham were turned to with longing eyes. Thevigorous efforts made in England, as well as in the colonies, forthe abolition of transportation to New South Wales, were fastreaching the wished for end, and it became evident that thisresult being arrived at, the occupation of the Darling Downs, andtheir connection with Moreton Bay, must necessarily compel thecessation of the system there as much as at Port Jackson. Tothose, and they are not a few, amongst us, who are apt todepreciate the labours of science, I may commend the fact, thatto the exertions of a single explorer, is primarily due thecontemporaneous deliverance of this district with that of theparent colony, from the evils of the convict system. Had nooverland route been found by Cunningham between the Upper HunterRiver and Moreton Bay, the isolation of the Brisbane districtwould have left it open to the importation of criminals, just asVan Diemen's Land was left, and in all probability for as long aperiod.

Captain Fyans left in the year 1837, and was succeeded byMajor Cotton, who, during his two years' stay, did, and left,nothing worthy of record. After him a three months command washeld by Lieutenant Gravatt, and in 1839 the last commandant,Lieutenant Gorman (of the 80th), commenced the task of graduallyclearing away the remnants of a convict condition. The vesselwhich came for the remaining prisoners brought the officials towhom were entrusted the task of regularly surveying the countryand laying out the future City of Brisbane. A good deal had beendone towards the exploration of the surrounding districts by thelate Mr. A. Petrie, who was sent in 1837 to take charge of theGovernment buildings, and to whom this colony is indebted forvaluable information which, although not always well employed,tended to the promotion of its ultimate settlement. And thus theground was gradually clearing for that opening of the district toa population which the first abolition of transportation to NewSouth Wales in 1840 necessitated. No criminals were sent toMoreton Bay for penal punishment after 1839, and on May 5, inthat year, every convict, save such as were thought indispensablefor the settlement, and to make up the surveyors' parties, waswithdrawn. I am therefore inclined to consider 1839 as the realtermination of the penal era in this district, and the periodbetween that year and the formal proclamation of Moreton Bay as afree settlement in 1842, as one of preparation for therequirements which the new state of things would involve. Thegrub had passed into the chrysalis condition. What the fulldevelopment would result in remained to be seen.

{Page 29}

CHAPTER III.

1839-1843.

Brisbane at the termination of thePenal Era—Surveying Operations and Murder ofStapylton—Formation of Squatting Stations on theDowns—Stokes' Voyage to the Gulf of Carpentaria in1840—Proclamation of the whole District as a FreeSettlement in May, 1842—Governor Gipps' Visit in 1842, andPlans for Brisbane and Ipswich by hisdirection—Discouragement by him of the Moravians—TheRoman Catholic Mission to the Aborigines—Failure of bothMissions—First Land Sale in 1842—First RepresentativeInstitutions granted to New South Wales—FirstElection—Progress of Settlement—Poisoning of theAborigines.

We now arrive at a period of thenarrative whose interest, not, perhaps immediately apparent,grows upon us as it proceeds. The process of free settlementcommenced under no small difficulties, arising partly fromprevious conditions of existence, partly from remoteness ofposition, and partly from misconception of the probable future ofthe district—a misconception which sometimes by the arts ofspeculators unduly anticipated a rapid growth and earlyprosperity: but most persons understood Moreton Bay as destinedto remain, except as a profitable appanage to the parent colony,a mere outpost of a not very refined civilisation. The actualstate of the place afforded little to contradict the moredepreciating supposition.

At the time when the convict rule was supposed to be nigh itsend, Brisbane existed almost only in name. There were no streets,and nothing that could by any stretch of the imagination, betortured into a town. Fronting the river, adjoining what is nowcalled William Street, stood the modest wooden residence of theCommandant.* In its rear was a long row of old rubble buildingsfor the minor officials and servants immediately attached to him;some of these rooms are still remaining behind an hotel in GeorgeStreet, close to Telegraph Lane. At some distance further up theriver, were the commissariat quarters, now the office of theColonial Secretary, and next to them the military barracks, atpresent occupied by the Colonial Treasurer and a host of theCivil Service. The hospital, transformed into a police barracks,has recently been removed for our new Law Courts. The oldprisoners' barracks, which successively accommodated ourlegislature, our law courts, and I know not what besides, wereas, until recently, we saw them—odd-looking and ugly. Thewind-mill usefully occupied the building now called theObservatory, and on another and slighter eminence, stood thefemale factory, until of late the Police Court and Lock-up, nowremoved to make way for the Telegraph Office. Farther on the roadto Breakfast Creek—for Fortitude Valley then had noname—was the house of the clerk of the works. Beyond theseand a few temporary huts, there was nothing to indicate a town;and with the exception of the garden and cultivated groundmentioned in "Backhouse's Journal," all was "bush."

[* This, with much of the wood work of the oldhospital was prepared in Sydney, and sent to Moreton Bay to befixed, although timber a ply suited for the purpose was growingall around. The only advantage resulting from this—if itcould be so called—was an entomological one. A peculiarlylarge venomous spider, a native of Ceylon, came in the timber,part of which was teak and took up its quarters in the oldhospital, where the species long flourished, to the annoyance ofthe inmates.]

Three surveyors, Messrs. Dixon, Stapylton, and Warner, weresent to survey the country round the bay, prior to activemeasures being taken for its settlement; but the course adoptedunder the direction of the Sydney Government was marked byvacillation and inutility. The first attempt made, in July, 1840,was to survey the coast, in order to connect Moreton Bay with theRichmond River, a work whose immediate value it is difficult toperceive. Messrs. Dickson and Warner were to commence at the Bay,while Mr. Stapylton was to go overland, and run the Richmond downto an agreed point of junction. It is exceedingly doubtfulwhether at the time, Stapylton could have penetrated thefrightful country into which this useless work would have ledhim; he and his party were, however, unfortunately surprised bythe blacks near Mount Lindsay, and, with the exception of oneman, cruelly murdered. The survivor had been left apparently deadon the coals used to destroy the rest, on the remains of which hewas found, but was recovered by care and attention, and, a fewyears since, I believe, was still living. This misfortuneterminated the survey of the coast. The next proceeding was tomeasure off a base line on Normanby Plains, a few miles west ofIpswich, for a trigonometrical survey, which was persevered infor some time; and then a similar work was commenced nearBrisbane. Meanwhile, Mr. Dixon was recalled, and a Mr. Wade sentin his stead; the plans and records of the work done beingforwarded to New South Wales, and, so far as the district ofMoreton Bay was concerned, never more heard of. An expenditure oftime, skill, and money, so little calculated to advantage thesettlement, was thus fitly concluded.

During this time the prohibition of approach within fiftymiles of Brisbane remained in force, although occasionalpermissions were obtained from the New South Wales Government forits suspension. The absence of surveys for the town rendered itimpossible for any intending trader to secure a permanent site,and those who came, had to take their chance, while, in fact,considerable hesitancy was shown in permitting free settlers tocome at all. A small schooner called the John, commenced tradingbetween Sydney and Brisbane in 1840, but, when we know that itwas only of sixty tons burthen, we may imagine the limited extentof the traffic.

While the course of change, slow but sure, was thus advancingin the immediate district of Moreton Bay, the progress ofpastoral settlement on the Darling Downs was more rapid. TheMessrs. Leslie, two enterprising settlers of position and means,formed the station of Canning Downs, in 1840. Shortly afterwards,that of Rosenthal was settled upon for the Peel River Company,and the sound of occupying footsteps fell continuously upon theear of the dismayed savage, until he had no longer a spot on allthose fertile plains which he could look upon as his own.

It was impossible that this rapid work of settlement should beeffected without dispute and conflict with the native tribes.Robbery and murder by the blacks, and retaliatory indiscriminateslaughter by the whites, followed in quick succession. Stationafter station was formed, and every new occupancy drove theaborigines backwards, or might, perhaps, more truly be said tohave hastened their extermination. In the mass of conflictingstatements, it is difficult to determine with whom actualhostilities began; but it seems consistent with probability thatthe natives of the Darling Downs had long before been warned bythe gossip of the tribes of the unfriendly nature of the white'soccupation; and looking upon it at the very commencement as anaggression, acted, according to their light, in self-defence,when they killed his flocks and assailed himself. When didcivilization and barbarism come into contact without such aresult? It is more easy to deplore the evils of the collisionthan to see how they might have been prevented. That they wereincalculably increased by the unreasoning and wicked coursepursued by some of the settlers, it seems to me impossible todoubt.

Whatever may be thought of the conduct of the settlers towardsthe blacks, there can be no question as to their energy in makingthe most of the opportunities presented for their own immediatepurposes. The facilities of passage through Cunningham's Gap wereexamined, when it was found that the difficulties were fargreater than his memoir left reason to expect, although it is butright to say that the oldest surveyor we have in this colony (Mr.Warner) has expressed strong doubts to me whether the preciseline of Cunningham's real route has ever yet been found. Buthowever great the difficulty might be, yet, in the judgment ofthe pioneers of settlement, it was thought better to encounter itthan the dangers and distance of an overland journey from Sydney.In 1840, the first drays passed through Cunningham's Gap, andearly in 1841, Mr. Patrick Leslie, made the first family journeyfrom Brisbane to the Darling Downs. By this time the trade had sofar increased, as to justify the occasional despatch of a steamerfrom Sydney by the then Hunter River Steam Navigation Company,and Mr. Leslie and his family came in theShamrock.

When Mr. Leslie and his party arrived at Brisbane, his firstcare was accommodation for the night, which, when hotels as yetwere not, was a matter of some moment. The hospitality of theCommandant, due probably as well to the respectability of hisvisitors as to the claims of a stranger, provided for them invarious ways. My informant, with some of his companions, foundtheir quarters in the outbuildings of the modest Residence, theblankets they carried with them forming couch and coverlet on theboarded floors. The following day they swam their stock acrossthe Brisbane, with the exception of one valuable horse which hadbeen purchased for stud purposes. There was no punt available forhis passage, and one had to be obtained from the station atWoogaroo. Once fairly across the river, they went on to Limestone(now Ipswich), and found quarters with one of the officials incharge, at a place half barn half barracks, in which he waspermitted to entertain the few who came his way. In thoseprimitive days the master was almost invariably his own ostler,happy if he was not as well his own cook and laundress; and theyoung traveller seeing a tall good humoured looking man busy inthe primitive stables, asked him who he might be. The answer wasa little enigmatical, and a good deal jocose; and a sort ofgeneral conversation followed, in which the past of the one, andthe expectations of the other, were freely communicated. A littlesurprise was felt by the new comer when entering the placeappropriated for meals, he saw his recently gained friend takethe head of the table, and, in a strong Yorkshire accent, bid thetravellers make themselves at home. The embarrassment did not,however, affect his appetite or his rest. The next day thetravellers continued their route across Normanby Plains towardsthe almost unknown interior, when they began their upward toil.The progress was naturally slow, and camping out atnight—no unpleasant experience in a climate like that ofQueensland when the weather is favourable—was the rule. Onone occasion the horse of which I have spoken, was left in chargeof the youth to whom he was accustomed, while the remainder ofthe party went their different ways to provide the necessarycontingencies to the night's rest. Wearied by his day's toil, andlulled by the dreamy solitude by which he was surrounded, he fellasleep. The pawing and snorting of the beast awoke him to anunaccustomed sight—that of three tall sinewy savages; theirheads wreathed with feathers, and their bodies striped with theyellow earth in which they delighted—all armed with spearsand other weapons, strange enough in the eyes of him whom theyhad surprised. He was unsuspicious of danger, and a parley, suchas could be maintained, began. They made him understand theywanted "bread," "bacca," and "five allan." *. The two former hehad not with him, the last demand he did not understand. He wasbeginning to get a little embarrassed, when, to his great relief,Mr. Walter Leslie returned; and, at sight of an armed man, theblacks fled. The full extent of the youth's danger was thenexplained to him, and the whole party put upon their guard. Asnight came on, one of their number, without experience in bushtravel, and seeing lights flickering in the thick scrub, becamegreatly alarmed, fancying them the signals of an army of natives.One of more travel, after enjoying the joke, dispelled his fearsby quietly informing him that what he saw was nothing moredreadful than the flashing of the fire-flies. Still they weresufficiently prudent to keep strict watch till daylight came.

[* "Five allan," see note, Chapter ii., p.26.]

With the light came hunger, and darkness and fear departingtogether, one of the Messrs. Leslie took the youth with him insearch of game. They fell in with a bustard—similar, Isuppose, to that which delighted the hearts of Cook and hiscompanions seventy-one years before—which, having to carryfor four miles, naturally still occurs to the bearer as one ofthe largest, if not the largest, he has ever met with. The flavorwas equal in its way to its size; and cheered and strengthened bythe meal and a subsequent rest, they commenced the main ascent.What Cunningham thought easy, they, if they really hit upon histrack, found difficult; and not without much hard work—forthe toil of twelve bullocks during fourteen hours, brought alight dray only six miles further on the way—did theyovercome the last "pinch." From that to Canning Downs was easytravelling, and eight days after leaving Brisbane, they foundthemselves settled to their respective avocations.

While the pastoral settlement of the western interior was thusprogressing, and the Government of New South Wales becoming morealive to the value of the district, the progress of discovery wasnot unimportant in other directions. The discoveries and surveysof Flinders and King had left many portions of our northern coastyet unknown. Those able navigators, not less than theircotemporaries and many of their followers, were firm in believingthat the deep bays known to indent a large portion of thenorth-western shores, received the waters of extensive rivers,the discovery of which would not only open a route to theinterior, but afford facilities for colonizing a part ofAustralia so near to India, as to render its occupation a matterof evident importance. The English Government determinedtherefore to despatch another expedition to survey and explorethose parts of our shores which were wholly or in part unknown toFlinders and King. For this purpose, early in July, 1837, theydespatched theBeagle, sloop of war, under the command ofCaptain Wickham. Lieutenant Stokes, whose history I have beforeme, accompanying him in the first instance as first lieutenantand assistant surveyor. The little importance attached to MoretonBay at that time, is evidenced by the circumstance, that I do notfind any allusion to it as a settlement throughout the narrative,although theBeagle's first visit to our shores was inJune, 1838, in which month she was off Breaksea Spit. There is,indeed, little of Stokes' narrative of special value in thishistory, until it brings us to his discoveries in the Gulf ofCarpentaria, where theBeagle arrived in June, 1841; thenow rapid spread of settlement and flow of enterprise invest themwith such interest as to justify somewhat extended quotation.

After some casual surveying, the voyagers determined toascertain if the supply of water found by Flinders on Sweer'sIsland continued available, and with that view they sailed forthe island, where they arrived on July 8, in the same year.

"TheInvestigator's old well was discoveredhalf-a-mile eastward of the point, on the SE. extreme of theisland, to which I gave the name of Point Inscription, from avery interesting discovery we made of the name of Flinders' shipcut in a tree near the well, and still perfectly legible,although nearly forty years old. . . . On the opposite side ofthe trunk theBeagle's name and the date of our visit wascut. . . . I forthwith resolved that the first river wediscovered in the Gulf should be named the Flinders, as thetribute to his memory which it was best becoming in his humblefollower to bestow, and that which would most successfully servethe purpose of recording his services on this side of thecontinent." *

[* Stokes' Discoveries in Australia, vol. ii., p.271.]

I hope rather than expect, that those who may have followedLieutenant Stokes, have displayed equal good feeling, and sparedthe old tree which records the visits of theBeagle andInvestigator.

Stokes dug another well at what he thought a more convenientspot, and, at the extreme of Point Inscription, found excellentwater at a depth of twenty-five feet,** "pouring through a rockof concreted sand, pebbles, and shells." His observations at thisportion of his narrative are well worthy of extract.

[** Ibid., pp. 271 and 274.]

"This was a very important discovery, as InvestigatorRoad is the only anchorage for vessels of all sizes at the headof the Gulf in either monsoon, and possesses an equal supply ofwood, fish, and birds. . . . And lastly, I should observe, thatin case of our being fortunate enough to find rivers or fertilecountry on the southern shores of the Gulf, we at once saw wemight look forward to the time when Investigator Road (the roadfully deserves the name of a good port, being four miles inlength by one in breadth, with a depth of from four to sixfathoms; and sheltered at all points, except from south to SSE.,in which direction the shoalness of the shore prevents any seafrom getting up), should be the port from which all the produceof the neighbouring parts of the continent must be shipped."*

[* Stokes' Discoveries in Australia, vol. ii.,pp. 271 and 274.]

A careful and accurate survey was therefore made, and theresults were in every respect satisfactory.

On the evening of July 28, the explorers discovered the mouthof the first river they found in the Gulf, and which they namedthe Flinders; and on August 1, they entered another river, whichwe know as the Albert. I regret that the demands on my spaceprevent my extraction of the whole of the very vivid accountwhich Stokes gives of the two discoveries, but I cannot denymyself the pleasure of laying before my readers a few especiallyeloquent and suggestive passages. The opening of the Albert hadseemed so favorable, that Stokes made up a party and left theBeagle with the gig and the whale boat on the evening ofthe day he returned from Flinders.

"The prospects that lay before us raised our spiritsto the highest, and the weather clear, cool, and bracing, couldnot be more favourable, the temperature being 60°. The ripplesrolled rapidly, expanding from the boat's bows over the smoothglassy surface of the water, whilst the men stretched out as ifunconscious of the exertion of pulling, every one of them feelinghis share of the excitement. From the western sky the lastlingering rays of the sun shot athwart the way, turning it, as itwere, by the alchemy of light into a flood of gold. Over head thecope of heaven was gradually growing soberer in hue from thewithdrawal of these influences, which lately had warmed andbrightened it; but in the west a brilliant halo encircled thedecling [sic] ruler of the day. The sunset as brief as beautiful,night rapidly came on, and presently the masts of the ship couldno longer be seen, and we were pursuing our way in darknesstowards the mouth of the opening. After vainly endeavouring toget on the bank extending off the mouth, in the dark, we anchoredthe boats outside. The awnings were spread, and the kettle forour evening's meal was soon hissing over a blazing fire. Of allthings tea is the most refreshing after a day's fatigue; there isnothing that so soon renovates the strength and cheers thespirits, and on this occasion, especially, we experienced a dueportion of its invigorating effects. The grog was afterwardsserved out, pipes and cigars were lighted, the jest was uttered,and the tale went round; some fished, though with little success,and the officers busied themselves with preparations for themorrow's work. But all things must end.; the stories at lengthflagged; the fishermen grew tired, and getting into ourblanket-bags, with a hearty good night we resigned ourselves withthe exception of the look-out, to the arms of slumber The generaldirection we pursued was still south, for six miles by thewindings of the stream, which was so reduced in breadth andvolume, as to be scarcely a hundred yards wide, and not a fathomdeep. There was now little hope that it would lead into freshwater, although, from the number of trials that were made, I amsure there was salt water enough drank, to have physicked a wholevillage. . . Nothing now remained but to retrace our steps andtry the other branch. . . . At the end of three miles in a W. byS. direction, nearly doubled by the windings, we passed an islandon the left, the depth at low water so far being nearly twofathoms, and the width about 250 yards, promised well.Water-tasting had now become nearly out of fashion; however, itso happened, that one of the whaler's crew put his hand over andgave us the delightful news that the stream was quite fresh! Ageneral tasting followed, each being anxious to get the firstdraught of the water of our new found river; and the agreeableintelligence was confirmed. Of the importance of our discovery,there could now no longer be any doubt, and the exhilaratingeffect it produced on all was quite magical, every arm stretchingout as if the fatigue they had experienced had suddenly passedaway. . . . . The country was gradually becoming perceptiblyhigher, and the scenery extremely picturesque. Tall palm treesand bamboos were now to be seen among the rich foliage on thelower slope of the banks that rose here to an elevation of fiftyfeet, and were much intersected with water courses. Onwards wehurried, the influence of the tide being scarcely felt, and theriver preserving its SW½S. direction, with a width of two hundredyards, and a depth of two fathoms and a-half. At the end of threemiles no change was perceptible, and we began to congratulateourselves on at last having found a stream that would carry theboats far towards the point it was always my ambition toreach—the centre of the continent. . . . It was in truth asglorious a prospect as could greet the eye. A magnificent sheetof water lay before us, one unbroken expanse, resembling a smoothtranslucent lake. Its gentle repose harmonised exquisitely withthe slender motionless boughs of the drooping gums, palms, andacacias, that clustered on the banks, and dipped their featheryfoliage in the limpid stream, that, like a polished mirror, borewithin its bosom the image of the graceful vegetation by which itwas bordered. The report of our guns as they dealt destructionamong the quails that here abounded, rolled for the first timealong the waters of the Albert, breaking in on the hush ofstillness that appeared to reign over all like the presence of aspirit. The country that stretched away from either bank was anextensive plain, covered with long coarse grass, above which wasoccasionally seen the head of a kangaroo listening with his acuteear for our approach. . . . In our eagerness to proceed, we movedoff rapidly up the river, after a hasty meal. All beyond wasmystery, and it seemed that we were destined to remain insuspense: for the day soon closed in, leaving only the pale lightof the moon to guide us. The depth continued regular at two anda-half fathoms, and the width two hundred yards. We hastened on,the night scenery being almost more beautiful than the day; theheavens seemed more deep, the water more glittering, the treesmore graceful and feathery, and here and there a tall palm raisedits thin and spectral form above the dense foliage through whichthe moonlight broke at intervals, and fell, as it were, inshowers of silver on the placid waters." *

[* Stokes' Discoveries, vol. ii., p. 303.]

Seven miles of progress further, and they were obstructed byfallen timber, they then returned and took another branch, wherethey were again stopped by the same hindrance. Here they landed,it being now clear that all hope of water carriage to theinterior was at an end.

"The boats were at this time above fifty miles fromthe entrance, and our provisions only admitting of the remainderof the day being spent in land exploration, a party wasimmediately selected for the purpose. Following up a short woodyvalley, and reaching the summit of the level, a view burst uponme. . . A vast boundless plain lay before us, here and theredotted with woodland isles. . The river could be traced to thesouthward by a waving line of green trees; the latter were largerat this spot than in any other part, and consisted of tall palms,and three kinds of gums. No trace of the western branch could bediscovered. . . The line of verdure still pointed out thesoutherly course of the river across the endless plains, and itbecame natural to speculate on its source or origin; whether itwas the drainage of a swamp, or the outlet of some lagoon fed bythe Cordillera to the eastward. But to speculation alone was Ireduced, it not being permitted to me to clear the point: all Icould do, was to give one lingering look to the southward beforeI returned. In that direction, however, no curling smoke denotedthe presence of the savage; all was lonely and still; and yeteven in these deserted plains, equally wanting in the redundanceof animal as in the luxuriance of vegetable life, I coulddiscover the rudiments of future prosperity, and amplejustification of the name which I had bestowed upon them.** Igazed around despite my personal disappointment, with feelings ofhopeful gratitude to Him who had spared not so fair a dwellingplace for his creatures, and could not help breathing a prayer,that ere long the now level horizon would be broken by asuccession of tapering spires rising from the many Christianhamlets that must ultimately stud this country, and pointingthrough the calm depths of the intensely blue and gloriouslybright skies of Imperial Australia, to a still calmer andbrighter and more glorious region beyond, to which all oursublimest aspirations tend, and where all our holiest desires maybe satisfied." ***

[** The "Plains of Promise," now a familiarenough name. But, as showing how strongly difference of seasonmay affect the northern territory, Gregory, when passing over thePlains in 1858. found anything but a paradise. Still, the balanceof experience now is in their favour.]

[*** Stokes' Discoveries, vol. ii., p. 316.]

Stokes ascertained his position to be in latitude 17° 58½' S.,longitude 7° 12½' E. of Port Essington, or 129° 25' E. ofGreenwich; and an admirable "point of departure" for exploratoryexpeditions to the interior. Thus terminated his exploration ofthe southern shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, nearly twohundred miles of which had been minutely examined in the boats.Twenty-six inlets had been discovered, of which two proved to berivers, whilst three more were nearly as promising.

After leaving the Gulf of Carpentaria, theBeagleproceeded on her way, and after touching at various points,arrived at Spithead on September 30, 1843, after an absence ofmore than six years. The additions made by this voyage to thegeographical knowledge of our coasts, were of considerableimportance, and the clear and sometimes eloquent language inwhich the discoveries made are described, places Stokes'narrative beyond the ordinary level of the "travels" of thosedays. More extraordinary is the continuously generous feelingwhich I find in all these narratives, from Flinders' downwards.The respect paid by Flinders to Cook, was reflected again uponhim by King, and Stokes never fails to render the fitting tributeto the labours of his illustrious predecessors. Not what eachmight claim for himself, but what he might best learn was therightful possession of those who went before him, seems to havebeen the principle observed by all. They were all men who wroughtfor the work's sake, and while not unconscious of the value ofpersonal reputation, thought less of it than of the honestperformance of duty by which it was necessarily followed. I donot doubt that the perceptible existence of this spirit amongstthem has gone far to impart that authority to theirinvestigations and narratives which they have long and deservedlypossessed.

The discoveries of Stokes on the north-western coast wereunknown to the little community struggling into existence on theshores of Moreton Bay; but the exertions of Cunningham were nowto bear due fruit. The growth of the settlements on the DarlingDowns, and the gradual extension to the seaward, together withthe favourable reports from the officials of the locality,stimulated the New South Wales Government to a tardy recognitionof its value. In May, 1842, the whole district was proclaimedopen for free settlement. The proclamation was preceded by avisit from the then Governor, Sir George Gipps, who came to lookat the new district himself, and to determine, from personalinspection, upon the plans preparing for the two towns ofBrisbane and Ipswich—to which latter name that of Limestonewas to be changed.

When the plans of the town of Brisbane were submitted to SirGeorge Gipps, he evidently looked at them as for simply anordinary provincial settlement. That it should at any time becomethe capital of the district or its permanent port, seems never tohave distinctly presented itself to his mind—or, indeed, atthat time, to the mind of any one. Four or five years afterwards,Dr. Lang, in his "Cooksland," discussed the claims to thatdistinction of Cleveland, between the outlets of the Brisbane andthe Logan, and Toorbal, in that passage between the main land andBribie Island, which Flinders had called the Pumice StoneRiver—giving the preference to the latter. Even in 1860 theidea of making Cleveland the commercial port of the district hadnot been abandoned. I am, therefore, prepared to believe, that atthe time of Sir George Gipps' visit, when, as yet, no town was,the attention of the few officials was directed more to theextraction of revenue from the site they had than to theinvestigation of its value as a port or capital. In fact, thenatural thought of any one who merely casually considered thesubject then would have been, that for a port, the settlement wastoo far up a river, supposed to be encumbered by shoals and barslike the Brisbane; and that where almost everything was in thefuture, the final selection of the harbor necessarily belonged tothe future also.

The level ground available for the town was very small, andhence a difference arose as to the width of the streets, and thesize of the allotments. Assuming that the population would alwaysbe inconsiderable, Governor Gipps wished for the ordinaryarrangement of an Australian village—roads sixty-six feetwide, and allotments of a quarter of an acre each; but,ultimately, after some opposition from the local surveyors, thewidth of the principal street was increased to about eighty feet,and the general town allotments were diminished in size to admitof the change. A public quay was left on the north side, which,commencing where the natural facilities admitted, near to the endof Queen Street, was to be continued as time required—thenecessary reserve being made—to Breakfast Creek. The openspace in the centre of the town, on which the female factorystood, was left as a sort of place or square, which, either forhealth or effect, would have been of great value to itsappearance. The cupidity of some prominent residents subsequentlyteased the New South Wales Government into the idea of abandoningthe idea of the quay, and selling its site. In revenge for anelectoral defeat, the first Queensland Ministry deprived the townof its central square, and divided most of the space into smalland crowded allotments, to the permanent damage and discomfort ofthe whole city. The principal initiators of these severalinjuries still enjoy the reputation due to wisdom anddisinterestedness, while very generally Sir George Gipps bearsthe blame of proceedings directly in the teeth of his own wishesand decisions.

The facility of water carriage from Limestone, as comparedwith the then difficulties of land transit, joined to theexistence of a convict settlement there, led Sir George Gipps toexamine the suitability of its position for an inland town. Othersites were suggested—one where the Bremer swells into alarge kind of basin close to the present town, another at thedebouchure of that river in the Brisbane. The last suggestion wasconsidered inadvisable, for reasons which may have seemed goodenough at the time; but, in the "Minute of Instructions" left bythe Governor, the site now occupied by the town of Ipswich wasevidently considered as an alternative one only.

"An accurate survey should first he made of all thecountry on the right bank of the Bremer, for about a mile above,and two or three miles below Mr. Thorn's house, and for aboutthree miles along the high road in each direction—that isto say, towards Brisbane on the one side, and towards DarlingDowns on the other. . . . The broken nature of the ground is theonly difficulty which opposes itself to the selection of the sitefor the town. The plateau on which the shearing sheds stand,seems to be the best, and this must be adopted, unless Mr. Wadeshould find one lower down the river,to which a decidedpreference should be given." *

[* I am indebted to Mr. Warner for the use of hisofficial copy of this minute, as well as for much generalinformation.]

Special directions are given in the same minute, that the mainroad leading to Brisbane and to the Darling Downs, should beproperly laid out, and the errors in their then directionrectified. Unfortunately these instructions met with the usualfate of even gubernatorial wishes when the central authority isremote. The district surveyor did not look for a site lower downthe river, and did not lay out the roads; but local personalinterests and influences were allowed by him to supersede theessential considerations suggested by the Governor's minute, andthe present inferior site for the town was retained. It has beenthe fashion to lay all the blame of all the deficiences in theplans of both Brisbane and Ipswich upon the shoulders of GovernorGipps, but the most authentic information I could obtain leads meto very different conclusions. A careful inquiry into the factswould rather tend to the belief, that the stereotyped routine ofthe New South Wales Survey Office in such matters, and theinfluences, to which its subordinates were subject, were toopowerful even for a Governor; a belief, strengthened by the fact,that in nineteen out of twenty, of the towns laid out sinceGipps' time—and even since Separation—the verycourses whose adoption led to the defects alleged to exist inBrisbane and Ipswich, have been continued, and their evilsmultiplied and perpetuated.

One procedure of Sir George Gipps at this time was certainlyopposed to every dictate of sound policy, and even of commongratitude. I have before mentioned the establishment of theGerman mission to the aborigines within a few miles of Brisbane.It seems never to have been popular with the class who mosteasily found access to the higher official circles, or with thebulk of the debased population of Moreton Bay; and hostilesuggestions were not wanting. And, moreover, the Governor lookedupon the very moderate quantity of land allotted for its use withthe eye rather of a rapacious landlord than of a philanthropistor statesman. It came within the boundary of what he thoughtmight, at some time, be deemed suburban lands. So, without givingdirect orders for the removal of the mission, he suggested to itshead a journey to the interior, ostensibly for the discovery of amore useful, but really of a less permanent, and apparently lessvaluable location. It might have occurred to him, that even werethe missionaries unsuccessful in their efforts to Christianisethe aborigines, their services could have been well retained forthe imported population; and that something was due to theself-denial which marked the attempt, even though the results hadfallen below anticipation. I am the more surprised at thisconduct, because a belief in the possibility of colonizing theaborigines now caused an effort towards that end in a veryopposite quarter to that whence the first proceeded. Dr. Polding,the late Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, endeavoured, in1842, to establish a mission for the purpose at Dunwich, once aconvict station, on Stradbroke Island. I do not, however, findthat any beneficial results followed from it, and it wassubsequently abandoned. And, to close the subject here, I may aswell mention that the small external support which had been atfirst given by the New South Wales Government, having been aboutthis time withdrawn from the Moravians, one of the clerical headsleft the station sometime in 1843, and his colleague followed hima year afterwards. The lay missionaries, however, retained theirposition, and, being assisted by three new ones sent in 1844,made such effort as was practicable, either in their originalenterprise or in visiting their white neighbours. In time aprosperous little settlement arose, known as the German Station,and some of our most useful colonists have descended from thosepioneers of civilization. In the failure of both Roman Catholicsand Moravians to carry out their original purpose, there isnothing to be surprised at. The enormous chasm between thecomplexity of faculty and the amount of knowledge of a savage ofso low a type as the Australian aborigine, and those of hiswould-be civilizers, which has to be bridged before either canarrive at even a remote idea of the other's meaning in suchmatters as faith and worship, presents difficulties which, themore they are apprehended, the more insurmountable theybecome.

Shortly after Sir George Gipps' return to New South Wales, themap of Brisbane was sent to the Central Survey Office, and thesale of the first sections advertised at Sydney for December 7,1842. The plans exhibited have been described to me by alooker-on as scarcely surpassed by those gorgeous and imaginativedocuments, which, in the wild days of the Victorian diggings,flaunted in the windows and doorways of speculative and alluringMelbourne auctioneers. There was a good deal of curiosity aboutthe district, and, as is usual in the Australiancolonies—and to an outside observer unaccountablyso—when land in a new settlement, which not a single buyerhas ever seen or known anything of, save in a meagre officialaccount or a Government map, is offered for sale, there was avigorous competition. Some years since I was much amused with alively description by one of the ablest public men in Australia,*who was residing in Sydney at the time of the sale, of theimaginative values affixed by grave lawyers and money-wisemerchants to the new town allotments of Moreton Bay; and of thezeal with which they bid against each other for land whose titledeeds they, in time, and with equal judgment, treated almost aswaste paper. One allotment has been pointed out to me, for whichmore money was paid in 1842 than it would have realized ten yearsago. Some of us have witnessed more extravagant instances in ourown time, for we have known a town allotment in one of ourextreme northern possessions purchased at a Government land salefor nearly £100, and, three years afterwards, sold for £2. Nor inthis case had either of the purchasers seen, or had even a chanceof seeing, what he had bought, although it may be presumed thatthe last price was probably far higher the real value of theallotment than the first. Such was the influence on speculativeinvestment of the puffery of Government despatches, in givingfictitious importance, nearly twenty years ago, to a solitaryisland, which may become a settlement some time during the nextgeneration.

[* Sir Archibald Mitchie.]

While Sir George Gipps was thus unconsciously laying thefoundations of a capital, the wisdom of the EnglishParliament—or rather that portion of it which took anyinterest in colonial affairs—was engaged on an experimentin government for the colony of which Moreton Bay then formed avery unimportant portion. For some years before, there had beenmore or less of agitation in New South Wales in favour ofrepresentative institutions, and the subject having beenrepeatedly brought before the home Government, Lord John Russell,in 1841, prepared a draft of an Act for its settlement. A changeof ministry took place, and it then fell to the lot of LordStanley (the late Earl of Derby) in the session of 1842, to lay abill for the purpose before the Parliament. There were somedifferences between that bill and the measure of Lord JohnRussell, which Lord Stanley stated he had been induced to make bythe representations of Sir George Gipps and some otherinfluential persons connected with the colony. The mainprovisions of the Act, as finally passed, prove the hesitancywith which the privileges it did confer, were granted, as itwhile embodying a principle, its application was falteringly andfeebly made. By this instrument of government, a LegislativeCouncil was created, consisting of fifty-four members, thirty-sixof whom were elective, and eighteen nominees of the Crown. Fiveof the eighteen were the Colonial Treasurer, the Auditor-General,the Attorney-General, the Collector of Customs, and the Commanderof the Forces. The elective qualification was fixed at thepossession of a freehold of the value of £200, or occupancy at arate of not less than £20 per annum, while the representative onewas constituted by the ownership of freeholds worth at least£2,000, or an income of £100 per annum derivable from property.The duration of the Council was to be five years; all money billswere to originate with the Governor, and a civil list of £81,000per annum, as well as the regulation of the Crown lands, wasreserved from Legislative control. One remarkable provision was,that in the event of a new colony being formed to the northwardof Sydney, no territory lower than 26° S. should be detached fromNew South Wales. The Act arrived in Sydney on January 1, 1843,and no time was lost in bringing it into active operation.

There was a large party who viewed the measure with littlefavour. The power of the purse remained with the Governor and hisadvisers, and responsibility in any shape seemed a mereassumption. The reservation of the Crown lands from the controlof the Council met with special disapprobation; and the Act,which was intended as a peace offering by the Imperialauthorities, became rather a text for the harangued of a veryclever and not very scrupulous opposition. But, looking at thepeculiar social condition of New South Wales at that time, itseems quite possible that, had Lord Stanley's Act been moreliberal, it might have been productive of a very great deal ofmischief. It was an experiment, and as an experiment, wasnecessarily limited and tentative. In the elections whichfollowed its promulgation, Moreton Bay, joined to the electoraldistricts of the Macquarie and the Upper Hunter, had a veryinsignificant influence on he return of the successfulcandidate—Mr. Alexander Macleay—many years speaker ofthe old nominee Council, which, nominally as legislators, butreally as a consultative body, assisted the Governors of NewSouth Wales in their gubernatorial functions.

The people of Moreton Bay left the dissensions andcontroversies of Sydney, on these points, to take care ofthemselves. What was of far more immediate interest to them, wasthe quick following of the initiatory land sales at Sydney byothers at Brisbane, the first being held there on August 9, 1843,and the second, for the sale of allotments at Ipswich, on October11, in the same year. These sales were on the auction system, andconducted on the same plan as the primary sales under our presentCrown Lands Alienation Acts. The districts were divided intotown, suburban, and country allotments, the minimum price of thetwo former varying at the discretion of the Government, and ofthe latter being £1 per acre, to which, to the great discontentof the colonists, it had only recently been raised by the homeauthorities from twelve shillings. But prior to this, theattention excited by the proclamation of the district as free,and the Governor's visit, had led to a great increase in theprogress of squatting settlement, and both sides of the Brisbaneand its tributaries were rapidly occupied; the usual skirmishesbetween the pioneers and the natives accompanying the occupancyof every fresh station.

Government here, during this time, was gradually drifting intothe ordinary quietude of a district administration. In March,1842, the last of the penal Commandants—LieutenantGorman—had resigned his authority into the hands of thelate Dr. Simpson, who had been previously sent as Crown LandCommissioner for the district, and in November of that year,Captain J. C. Wickham was appointed Police Magistrate. They hadvery little difficulty in the performance of their respectiveduties, for the population was small—properly impressedwith the propriety of submission to those in authority over them,and disposed to take things easily. Their chief disquietude arosefrom the continuous conflicts between the squatters and theblacks, which, before the close of the year 1843, began to assumerather formidable proportions. In the districts bordering on theWide Bay, in the neighbourhood of the Brisbane, and all along thepassages over the Dividing Range, the attacks on the settlerswere determined and vigorous. A carrier named Phipps discovered apracticable pass from the northern portion of the Darling Downsby way of the township of Drayton, then and long afterwards knownas "The Springs." As this route reached the foot of themountains, after it crossed the Upper Lockyer, it ran along agorge, gradually narrowing, nowhere of great width, intersectedby wide and very deep gullies imperceptible at a small distance,and bounded on both sides by an impenetrable scrub. A station wasformed near it, called Helidon. In this small flat, a partyescorting a number of drays with stores, were suddenly attackedby a considerable number of blacks, with such ferocious vigour,that the escort lost heart and fled, and the drays and theircontents became the spoil of the savages. In revenge of this, alarge party of squatters and their dependents made a general raidupon the blacks, a number of whom were driven into the singularisolated table mountain, named by Cunningham, Hay's Peak. Towardsthe summit this consists mainly of large basaltic boulders, and Iwas told by a friend, who was present at the fray, that when thenatives were forced back to its ascent, they rolled the bouldersdown the precipitous slopes with great effect, and to thediscomforture of their assailants. No small number of the savageswere, however, shot at the time. Their hostility was notdecreased, nor their readiness to show it, at length a smallparty of soldiers was permanently quartered at the entrance ofthe gorge I have described—thence named Soldiers' Flat.This step I presume to have been effectual, as I do not read ofany general or preconcerted attack afterwards upon the soldiers,or upon parties travelling in that direction. In the year 1861 Iwas camped close to the spot, and the half-ruined hut and remainsof the soldiers' little garden—then occasionally occupiedby a care-taker from the neighbouring station—looked sadand solitary beneath the shadows of the mountains and the gloomof the surrounding forest. Now a township has been settled at ashort distance from it, and the whistle of the locomotive and therush of the railway trains mingle with the more pleasing notes ofthe ancient inhabitants of the woods.

But, prior to this ceaseless and indiscriminate hostility, oneof those almost incredible crimes which disgrace our efforts atcolonization, is said to have occurred at Kilcoy—a stationon the north of the Brisbane—and to have had a markedeffect in stimulating the revengeful passions of the aborigines,already sufficiently provoked by the outrages to which, in thisas well as in adjoining districts, they had been exposed almostever since penal settlements began. I allude to the poisoning ofa considerable number of blacks by the admixture of arsenic withfood given them for the purpose—a crime so atrocious inevery aspect as to appear almost incredible. I am afraid that, tothe disgrace of humanity, the accusation was in this, as in not afew other cases, too true.

In the few historical or semi-historical works relative to thecolony that I have seen, the subject has been vigorously dealtwith. Dr. Lang, in his "Cooksland," and subsequently in his"Queensland," accepts the murder as a fact, and discusses it withhis customary indiscriminate vehemence. Mr. Clement Hodgkinson,at one time connected with the Survey Office of New South Wales,in a small work of his on the Macleay River and the northernsettlements of New South Wales, treated the charge as one of"ridiculous improbability." Mr. Pugh, in his slight but valuablecondensation, prefixed to his Almanac for 1859, does not refer toit. But, as bearing on an important question connected with thatpolicy of precipitating settlement at all hazards which hasformed the subject of so much administrative panegyric here, thewhole matter is one of too great importance to be passed lightlyby.

Nearly contemporaneously with the date of the allegedpoisoning at Kilcoy in 1842, a similar instance, but on a largerscale,* occurred in the Clarence River district. Thecircumstances provoked such comment, that the presumed principaldelinquent was, as I am informed by a member of our Legislaturelong resident here, with whom I have conversed on the subject,apprehended and sent to Sydney, where, after some detention, hewas discharged from the want of available legal evidence againsthim. Now, in 1839, and not with reference to that case, "AnAct to allow the aboriginal natives of New South Wales to bereceived as competent witnesses in criminal cases," ** waspassed by the then Council during the government of Sir GeorgeGipps *** This Act was disallowed by the Home Government; butsurely no greater proof of the admitted prevalence of outragesupon the aborigines can be furnished than the enactment of such astatute. The provision of a remedy proves the existence of anevil. Again, in the evidence of an old settler and magistrate ofthe territory, when examined before a Select Committee of ourLegislative Assembly, on the Native Police Force in 1861, I finda curious confirmation of the practice. In reply to thequestion:—

[* More than seventy of all sexes and ages aresaid to have been poisoned at once by the admixture of poison incakes given to the unsuspecting victims.]

[** New South Wales Statutes, 3 Vic., No.16.]

[*** In 1850, again the Attorney-General of thatcolony, in a debate upon a bill for legalizing aboriginalevidence, treated the fact of the poisoning as indisputable.]

"You have stated, that it is through fear that manyof the cruelties are perpetrated upon the blacks, which appearsto me rather inconsistent—will you explain your meaningmore clearly?"

He answers:—

"I have known in former times on the Macintyre, wheretwo or three men might be living at a station together, who wouldemploy the blacks, and give them rations and tobacco—wellthese men would be frightened out of their lives by the blacks,and not being strong enough to go out and fight them, and beingalways in a state of fear, they would pop a gun through the slabsof the hut and fire upon them, and perhaps kill a blackfellow;at other times they would put poison in a damper and give itto the blacks. It was never the case when the stations werestrongly manned, and therefore, as I said before, fear of theblacks was the chief cause of these murders." ****

[**** Votes and Proceedings of the LegislativeAssembly of Queensland, 1861, p. 481.]

And many hundreds of miles from Moreton Bay, Mr. Robinson, theprotector of aborigines for the district of Port Phillip,officially declared in 1845, that there was "reason to fear thatthe aborigines have been poisoned, and the ends of justicedefeated for want of legal evidence." I might easily multiplyproof on this head by the testimony of settlers of long standingand unexceptional character, but I prefer citation of notoriousfacts, and from official documents, and to extend this furtherwould be a waste of time. What has been given at least disposesof the "ridiculous improbability" of the charge.

We now come to the facts peculiar to the case itself. When theRev. Mr. Schmidt—at the time head of the German mission tothe aborigines—in compliance with the wishes of Sir GeorgeGipps, set out to visit the Bunya Bunya country to see how farthe removal of the mission was practicable, he was accompanied bysome natives of the tribe resident in the mission locality whoacted as guides. Upon reaching a portion of the country inhabitedby another tribe, he found his companions unwilling to proceedfurther, and, upon enquiry, they alleged as a reason, that aconsiderable number of the natives, through whose district theywere going, had been poisoned at a station settled amongst them,and that, in revenge, the life of strangers, either white orblack, coming in that direction, would be unsafe. Ultimately, thegood offices of some of the aggrieved tribe were obtained, andthe journey was prosecuted in safety. But in the official reportof Mr. Schmidt to Dr. Lang—who was then secretary to themission—the fact was alluded to, although in such a veryquiet and off-hand manner, as to create an impression in the mindof the reader, that the circumstances were not so uncommon as torequire detailed comment.

"There was also another reason which influencedgreatly our natives against going any further—viz., a largenumber of natives (about fifty or sixty) having been poisoned atone of the squatter's stations. The neighbouring tribes aregoing, we are told, to attack and kill the whites whenever theymeet with any."

Dr. Lang moreover states—and he has not beencontradicted—that the same report had not only been broughtto the mission by lay brethren who had received it from anotherand distinct tribe, but that Mr. Schmidt had himself heard ittalked of by the residents in Brisbane. In consequence of thepublication of Mr. Schmidt's report, and the comments itoccasioned, Mr. Schmidt was officially interrogated on thesubject, and reiterated his former statement. No further enquirywas entered into—it may be from the Government finding nolegal evidence available; but an unexpected confirmation of Mr.Schmidt's truthfulness was afterwards afforded from widelydifferent quarters. The late Mr. Andrew Petrie made, in 1842, anexpedition to Wide Bay, in the course of which he rescued tworunaway convicts, named Davis or Davies, and Bracefield, from theaborigines, with whom they had associated for some years. Theirdesignations in the tribe were Darumboy and Wandie. Both thesemen and their black companions dissuaded Mr. Petrie from anyattempt at interior exploration, urging that—

"the blacks were determined to attack us, as theywould have revenge for the poisoning of their friends at some ofthe stations to the south."

The Wide Bay blacks at the same time told Wandie "that thewhite-fellows had poisoned a number of their tribe." Mr. Petrie'struthfulness has never been impugned, and inasmuch as hisnarrative has stood thus for more than thirty-seven years, it isimpossible not to regard its concurrence with that of Mr. Schmidtas of great weight in establishing the fact that the poisoningdid occur.

This concurrent testimony was unexpectedly, but mostemphatically, supported in 1861, by the evidence taken before theSelect Committee of the Legislative Assembly, to which I havebefore referred. One of the witnesses examined, who had been onthe Kilcoy station at the time of the alleged poisoning, afterinforming the committee that the blacks had been troublesome, twoof his hands having been killed during his stay, although neitherhe nor the owner, Sir Evan Mackenzie, came personally intocollision with them, gave the following replies to the questionsquoted:—

"During your residence there, were any of the blackspoisoned, or reported to be poisoned?—I heard something ofthat, but not until after we left. I first heard of it from Mr.Merewether. I travelled with him in the same steamer with SirGeorge Gipps. Mr. Merewether began talking with me about theblacks, and gave me all the particulars. I had not the slightestidea before, that such a thing had occurred at all,but itmust have happened whilst I was there.

"Do you remember hearing of anything of the sort while youwere at the station?—I remember the overseer saying to meone day, Don't you think it would be a good thing to give thosefellows a dose?' Of course I expressed my abhorrence of thesuggestion, and no more was said about it. I never heard anythingfurther on the subject." *

[* Votes and Proceedings of the Assembly, 1861,p. 477. Evidence of John Ker Wilson, Esq.]

The enquiry of the overseer appears to me of greatsignificance. It pointed not to an experiment, but amethod—something already tried and found sufficient for thepurpose, and intended to be repeated as occasion might seem torequire. Taking the whole of the evidence in conjunction with thenarratives of Schmidt and Petrie, it would be difficult, in theabsence of stronger proof to the contrary, to doubt the truth ofthe charge brought.

Mr. Hodgkinson, indeed, suggests, that—

"according to the account of the squatters, it wouldappear that some sheep, diseased and scabby, had been dressed, asusual, with arsenic, which, with corrosive sublimate, is theordinary remedy for scab. These sheep had been rushed by theblacks, and a number of them carried off, and it is supposed thatthe arsenic caused the death of some of thethieves."

Kilcoy station was not even formed at the time, and squattersdo not usually want to take up new country with diseased andscabby sheep. The evidence from which I have quoted refers to nosuch circumstance. And the savages were always keen enough todistinguish between injuries caused by what they had stolen, andthose resulting from what had been given them. The form of deathwas entirely new to them. Had they "rushed" thesheep—stolen them with violence—in the teeth of theshepherd's resistance—and some then died from eating them,the survivors would hardly have confounded such a consequencewith death following from a gift, which was the essence of theirstatement. The intercourse of the particular tribe with white menwas of very recent date—limited to a few occasions during amonth or two, and the very fact, that they did so discover themode of destruction may be taken to afford strong internalevidence of the fact.

I am by no means inclined to concur in Dr. Lang's sweeping andindiscriminate censure of the squatters as a class. I do notsuppose that Sir Evan Mackenzie was at the time personallycognizant of the atrocity of his men, or that he would not alwayshave forbidden its practice. But what every right-minded man mustregret, is the determined opposition to any real enquiry by whichevery charge of the kind was met—the palliations offered onbehalf of the accused, and the half-defiant and slighting mannerwith which the accusations were put by. From this sort ofprocedure the actual murderers derived encouragement. Theyconcluded, that while their employers prohibited the crime, theyhad little anxiety to secure its detection, and less scruple inprofiting by its commission. Had the squatters of Moreton Bay in1842 been wise in their generation, they would have insisted onan investigation, which would have rendered impossible thesuspicions which were not infrequently and ungenerously directedagainst them from hostile quarters. It might have beentroublesome; but the convenient is one thing, the prudent andfar-seeing another.

Long after this poisoning, rumours periodically arose ofsimilar occurrences in the district, but apparently withouttangible foundation. As time passed, and population increased, abetter and more powerful public opinion arose, and he would he,indeed, a bold man who ventured now on—any such crime;although, until within the last few years, the slaughter of anative was too often looked upon, and is sometimes now—andby men who have been taught and ought to have knownbetter—as of little more moment than that of his dog. Themischievous result of that crime was long apparent. The tribesdid not lack means of rapid and correct communication. Theirdialects may differ, as the dialect of uneducated Yorkshirediffers from that of uneducated Kent, but there is alwayssufficient homogeneity in the language of contiguous districts,to enable their inhabitants to understand each other; * and fromall that I have learned I can arrive at no other conclusion thanthat very many of the murders perpetrated by the blacks for yearsafterwards were more or less in consequence, or in revenge, ofthe wholesale poisoning at Kilcoy.

[* Thus, in 1841, Mr. Leslie's party, travellingto settle on Canning Downs, were asked by the blacks ofCunningham's Gap for "Five Allen,"—i.e., FiveIslands, the name given to biscuits by the Bribie Islandaborigines after Pamphlet and Finnigan's stay with them in1823—eighteen years before.]

{Page 51}

CHAPTER IV

1843-1846

Passage of the Preferable LiensAct—Invention of the Boiling Down Process—Agitationfor Exploring Journey to Port Essington—Refusal by GovernorGipps—Leichhardt Volunteers—Starts on his Journey in1844—Arrives at Port Essington, 1845—Return to Sydneyand Presentation of Testimonial—Establishment of TheBrisbane Courier—Census of the Settlement—FirstCustoms Officer Appointed—First LocalSteamer.

I gladly turn from the enquiry in thepreceding chapter—one, however, which could not have beenomitted in any full and honest history of the colony—tomatters of less gloomy aspect. After Sir George Gipps returned toSydney, he soon found himself involved in disputes on a varietyof subjects with his new Council, while the asperity ofopposition was not softened by the monetary depression underwhich the colony of New South Wales then laboured.* One result ofthat time of trial, was the enactment of the "Preferable LiensAct, 7 Victoria, No. 3, of New South Wales," since modifiedin various ways, but still, in its main principle, the law in allthe colonies. Its object was to facilitate the giving securityupon stock and wool without actual delivery to the lender. As ameasure of relief, its beneficial effect was soon felt, and itsoperation has been, on the whole, of great advantage to thesquatting community, and the monetary establishments immediatelyconnected with their interests. Another, and still morebeneficial consequence, was the introduction of the "boilingdown" process, by which unsaleable sheep and cattle wereconverted into saleable tallow, and a staple article of export atonce created. In the advantages of both these improvements, thesettlers of Moreton Bay necessarily participated; the politicaldisputes concerned them little, and they cared for them inproportion.

[* See Lang's "New South Wales," vol. i.]

In the midst of political strife and monetary struggle, thedesire for geographical discovery increased in vigour. The natureof the vast interior of this island-continent to the west andnorth of New South Wales, remained a problem which geographerswere intent upon solving. Nor were there wanting men ofconsiderable weight in New South Wales, who fully concurred inthe opinions which had been repeatedly expressed in England,relative to the important benefits to the colonies, as well as tothe empire, which a near connection between Australia and Indiawould confer. The attempted settlement at Port Essingtonoriginated in such a conviction by the Imperial Government, whichindeed, has seldom been wanting in colonial support from thosewho desired to improve their means or their position by aconvenient acquiescence. It is pleasing to trace the firstpractical efforts towards penetrating Australia with the purposeof testing the practicability of the connection I have referredto, to a combination of parties in New South Wales, which, fromthe usually antagonistic nature of its elements, may reasonablybe supposed to have been genuine. On October 3, 1843, and on themotion of Dr. (now Sir Charles) Nicholson, the following voteswere carried in the Legislative Council:—

"That, whereas, the establishment of an overlandroute between the settled parts of New South Wales and PortEssington, will be attended with important additions to ourgeographical knowledge of the interior of Australia, and is anobject the accomplishment of which is likely to be attended withgreat advantages to the commercial and other interests of thiscolony, by opening a direct line of communication with theislands of tile Eastern Archipelago, with India and other partsof Asia: Resolved, That a committee be appointed for the purposeof enquiring into the practicability of such a design, and themeans whereby it may be carried into effect, and that they doreport to the Council the result of such inquiry with as littledelay as possible."

"Question put and passed, and committee, consisting of thefollowing members, appointed:—Mr. Elwin, Dr. Lang, Mr.Suttor, Mr. Wentworth, Mr. Macarthur, and Dr.Nicholson."

As is usual before all Parliamentary committees, a good dealof evidence not directly bearing upon the question, althoughprobably of value in other respects, was taken, but ultimatelythere seemed to be no reason to doubt the desirability of somesuch expedition as that suggested, although opinions were dividedas to the exact route to be adopted. Sir Thomas Mitchell, thethen Surveyor-General, whose previous success in exploration inthe western and southern districts of the colony impartedconsiderable weight to his opinion—was decisive in hisrecommendation of Fort Bourke on the Darling River as a startingpoint. The only alternative suggested—that of Moreton Bayas a point of departure—the committee rejected, because ofthe "formidable difficulties" likely to attend such acommencement.

"The Dividing Range," the committee observed, "wouldhave to be surmounted, occasioning to the cattle and horses atstarting a degree fatigue and exhaustion, which would probablymuch impair their strength and usefulness in the subsequent partof the journey"—

an opinion which now can only occasion a smile. Theyrecommended the route by Fort Bourke, and an expenditure of£1,000 by the Colonial Government in support of the undertaking.Sir George Gipps, with a hesitancy scarcely consistent with"Imperial interests," although concurring in the desirability ofthe attempt, referred the recommendation for the approval of theSecretary for the Colonies, alleging the "present circumstances"of the colony as justifying his doubts.

Dr. Lang describes the general feeling at this unexpectedresult as one of great disappointment, for which, however, asolace was not long in presenting itself. Dr. LudwigLeichhardt—a name mournfully associated with much ofdisinterested enterprise, and of that kind of patient enduranceunder suffering which calls for qualities far beyond ordinaryheroism—was then in Sydney awaiting the result of thecommittee's recommendation. He was desirous of attaching himselfto the proposed expedition as a naturalist, and, finding himselfdeprived of that opportunity, he conceived the idea of leadingone himself. He had previously spent some time in the district ofMoreton Bay, to which he had travelled overland, and had beengratified and surprised by the novelties of its physicalcharacteristics. His personal means were small; but this was morethan compensated by an enthusiasm and a perseverance sometimesscarcely compatible with prudence. He proposed to start fromMoreton Bay with a small party, and thence to push for the Gulfof Carpentaria, intending then to follow the coast to PortEssington. However great may have been the sorrows of the NewSouth Wales public that the £1,000 was not forthcoming for SirThomas Mitchell's journey, they showed in the expression of avery limited sympathy, the extent of their assistance toLeichhardt. The help he received was paltry; and never havingbeen connected with official circles, or with an influentialclique of any kind, he seems to have been generally regarded as asingularly bold intruder on a work equally beyond his provinceand his powers.

Leichhardt had been educated as a physician, but, with a notunusual divergence of pursuit, extended his studies to other andkindred branches of physical science, somewhat to the neglect ofhis original profession. He was a good naturalist awl botanist,of temperate habits and well fitted to bear fatigue. A passionfor exploration was combined in him with an intense and jealousavarice of fame to be derived from the accomplishment of supposedimpossibilities. To state a difficulty or to suggest anobstruction was simply to stimulate him to effort. Writing toProfessor Owen (from whom he had received a letter ofintroduction to Sir Thomas Mitchell), in 1844, hesays:—

"Living here, as the bird lives, who flies from treeto tree, living on the kindness of a friend fond of my science,or on the hospitality of the settler and the squatter, with alittle mare I travelled more than 2,500 miles zigzag fromNewcastle to Wide Bay, being often groom and cook, washerwoman,geologist, and botanist at the same time; and I am delighted inthis life, but I feel too deeply that ampler means would enableme to do more and do it better. When you next hear of me, it willbe either that I am lost and dead, or that I have succeeded topenetrate through the interior to Port Essington."

I know nothing that could give a more graphic idea of thespirit that animated this, in many respects, extraordinaryman.

With a slender equipment, which he somewhat hurriedlycompleted, Leichhardt left Sydney in August, 1844. He wasaccompanied by two young Englishmen, named Calvert and Roper,John Murphy (a lad sixteen years old), Phillips (a convict), andan aboriginal called Harry Brown. A rather protracted voyage inthe oldSovereign steamer, impoverished his horses, and hewas glad to rest on his arrival in Brisbane, where he washospitably received by Sir Evan Mackenzie, the late Mr. PembertonHodgson, and others, who felt an interest in his intendedjourney. During the short delay thus occasioned, he soughtopportunities of profiting by the greater knowledge possessed byhis friends of the country through which the proposedcommencement of his travel would lead. His first idea seems tohave been to keep to the eastern slopes of the Dividing Range, asnear to the coast as was compatible with heading the riverstaking their sources on that side. The result of many friendlydiscussions was that, with some reluctance, he abandoned thatintention, and crossed the Range to Westbrook, and thus, whilekeeping to its west, but in a nearly parallel line to the coast,escaped a very difficult and dangerous country, which might havethen presented obstacles insurmountable even to him. Somealterations, dictated by the experience of the settlers, weremade in his equipment while resting at Westbrook, and the numberof the party was increased by the addition of Mr. PembertonHodgson, Mr. Gilbert (a naturalist, who had been with Gould, thegreat ornithologist), a negro, and another aboriginal, named.Charley. Bullocks were substituted for pack horses for carryingthe stores.

"Neither my companions nor myself knew much aboutbullocks, and it was a long time before we were reconciled to thedangerous vicinity of their horns. By means, however, of ironnose-rings, with ropes attached, we obtained a tolerable commandover their movements, and at last, by dint of habit, becamefamiliar with, and even got attached to, our blunt and oftenrefractorycompagni de voyage. *

[* "Leichhardt's Journal:" Introduction, p. 13.London, 1847.]

"By a present from Messrs. Campbell and Stephens offour young steers and one old bullock, and of a fat bullock fromMr. Isaacs, our stock of cattle consisted now of sixteen head. Ofhorses we had seventeen, and our party consisted of tenindividuals. Of provisions we had 1,200 lbs. of flour, 200 lbs.of sugar, 80 lbs. of tea, 20 lbs. of gelatine, and other articlesof less consideration, but adding much to our comfort during thefirst few weeks of our journey. Of ammunition we had about 30lbs. of powder and eight bags of shot of different sizes, chieflyof No. 4 and No. I. Every one, at my desire, had provided himselfwith two pairs of strung trousers, three strong shirts, and twopairs of shoes, and I may further remark, that some of us wereprovided with ponchos, made of light, strong calico, saturatedwith oil, which proved very useful to us by keeping out the wet,and made us independent of the weather, so that we were wellprovided for seven months, which I was sanguine enough to thinkwould be sufficient time for our journey. The result proved thatour calculations as to the provisions were nearly correct; foreven our flour, much of which was destroyed by accident, lastedto the end of May—the eighth month of ourjourney—but, as to the time it occupied, we were very muchdeceived."

By the end of September, 1844, the preparations of the partywere completed, and on October 1, they left Jimbour, the thenfarthest occupied station, and "launched; buoyant with hope, intothe wilderness of Australia." **

[** "Leichhardt's Journal:" Introduction, p.6.]

Leichhardt himself divided his route into eight sections,justifying the division by the varying character of the countrythrough which he travelled. The first was from the Darling Downsto the Peak Range, including the Dawson and Mackenzie Rivers(latitude 27° to 23°); the second, the plains of the Peak Range,including the rivers Isaacs and Suttor (between 23° and 23° 50');the third, the Lower Suttor, the Burdekin, and its table land(21° to 18°); the fourth, the Lynd, the Mitchell, and the eastcoast of the Gulf of Carpentaria (between 18° and 10°); thefifth, the Plains of Promise, of Captain Stokes, at the head ofthe Gulf, with the Flinders. Albert, and Nicholson Rivers (inlatitude 18°): the sixth, the west coast of the Gulf (between 18°and 15°); the seventh, the River Roper and Arnheim's Land(between 13° and 13° 50'); and the eighth, the Alligator Riverand Coburg Peninsula (13° 40' to 11° 21'). Adopting his owndivision, we shall be able to connect the narrative of histravels with the more condensed and systematic description givenin the lectures which, after his return, he delivered at theSchool of Arts in Sydney, in August and September, 1846.

Starting from Jimbour on October 1, Leichhardt reached theCondamine River in six days, and, after following it a shorttime, left it trending to the west. On the 11th, in forcing theirway through a scrub, the bullocks upset their loads, and tearingthe bags, lost about 143 lbs. of flour, Still keeping in anorth-westerly direction, he reached the Dawson on November 5;but two days before he had reduced the number of his party.

"It had now become painfully evident to me, that Ihad been too, sanguine in my calculations as to our findingsufficiency of game to furnish my party with animal food; and thewant of it was impairing our strength.* We had also beencompelled to use our flour to a greater extent than I wished; andI saw clearly that my party, which I had reluctantly increased onmy arrival at Moreton Bay, was too large for our provisions. Itherefore communicated to my companions the absolute necessityfor reducing our number. All, however, appeared equally desirousto continue the journey, and it was therefore but just, thatthose who had joined last should leave. Mr. Gilbert, however, whowould, under this arrangement, have had to retire, found asubstitute in Mr. Hodgson, who had, perhaps, suffered most byadditional fatigues; so, that he and Caleb, the American negro,prepared for their return to Moreton Ray. Previous, however, totheir departure, they assisted in killing one of our steers, themeat of which we cut into thin slices and dried in the sun. This,our first experiment, on the favourable result of which ourexpedition entirely depended, kept us during the process in astate of great excitement. It succeeded, however, to our greatjoy, and inspired us with confidence for the future. . . . Thedaily ration of the party was now fixed at six pounds of flourper day, with three pounds of dried meat, which we foundperfectly sufficient to keep up our strength."

[* Yet, at this time (1881), we are paying abounty on poor kangaroo and wallaby heads. The extermination ofnatives and dingoes has resulted in a plague of marsupials.]

We shall see, that in a short time, this allowance was againlessened, as to flour, by one-half.

The party thus reduced, Leichhardt and his companionsproceeded on their journey. On November 5, as I have said, theycame upon the head waters of the Dawson, which river theyfollowed until the 14th. Then striking in a northerly direction,they crossed a system of tributaries; naming Palm Tree Creek andRobinson's Creek; but falling into the very natural error ofgiving a westerly course to the latter. Leichhardt himself hadconsiderable doubt as to the propriety of this decision, for hesays:—

"I could not decide to my entire satisfaction whethermy views were right, for the country was difficult forreconnoitring, and I was necessarily compelled to move quickly onto accomplish the object of my expedition; but it is a veryinteresting point for geographical research, and I hope, if notanticipated by other explorers, to ascertain at some futureperiod, the course of these creeks and rivers."

Still pursuing their intended direction over a ratherdifficult country, they came in sight of Expedition Range on the27th, having by this time become fully inured to the hardship andprivation incidental to such a journey. Iguanas, opossums, andbirds of all kinds they gladly consigned to the stew-pot aschoice variations from the usual meal of dried beef or kangaroo.Some flour, accidentally spilled on the ground, was carefullyscraped up with dry gum tree leaves, and a small quantity whichbecame mixed with those natural spoons and an unavoidable portionof dust, was converted into porridge, which, with the addition ofa little gelatine, the travellers considered they enjoyed. On the28th they discovered the Boyd, another tributary of the Dawson,but which Leichhardt seems to have thought wended in the samewesterly direction that he had assigned to Robinson's Creek. ByDecember 7, they reached Zanica Creek, whose bed they foundentirely dry, and here they had their first encounter with theblacks, which fortunately ended in no more mischief than thewounding of a horse. On the 10th, they crossed Expedition Lange,and travelling with varying incident, passed over Albinia Downs,and reached the Comet Creek on the 28th. On the banks of thisthey found "the remains of a hut, consisting of a ridge pole andtwo forked stakes about six feet high, both having been cut witha sharp tomahawk." This, they did not doubt, was the work of someunhappy runaway from Moreton Bay, but they do not seem to haveobserved or looked for any other sign of a white man's existence.Still following the creek, they came, on January 10, 1845, to itsjunction with a river which Leichhardt named the Mackenzie. Thisthey travelled along for some time; and on the 14th, found in itsbroad and sandy bed the creeper which we now know as theLeichhardt or Mackenzie bean. The seeds of this they roasted andused as a substitute for coffee. On the 18th they left theMackenzie flowing to the north-east, and pursued the course ofthe expedition.

Of the country thus travelled over, Leichhardt's impressionwas, upon the whole, favourable. The frequency and peculiarity ofthe scrubs through which he passed struck him as one of its mostprominent characteristics. Geologically, he found it ofsandstone, which, from its accompanying coal beds and otherindications, he considered identical with the formation of theLower Hunter District of New South Wales—although, inseveral localities it had been broken by basalt as in the spineof the Expedition Range. Generally speaking, he thought thecountry well-watered; and, unless where the brigalow scrub wasmore than usually thick, well calculated for pastoral settlement,more especially on the heads of the Dawson and its tributaries,and between Expedition Range and the Mackenzie River. This riverhe supposed to disembogue into Broad Sound; a very naturalconjecture to anyone unaware of the coast range by which it isdiverted into the Fitzroy. We must, moreover, not forget that themain object of Leichhardt was not the discovery of country forsettlement, but the practicability of communication between thesouthern colonies and the north coast of Australia. That heeffected so much in the way of what may be termed alongsideexploration, beyond the mere line of his route, is as creditableto him as it was ultimately advantageous to the public.

I now return to his journey. Leaving his party engaged in theprocess of drying and packing the carcass of one of theirbullocks, he proceeded on a reconnoitring expedition on January18, accompanied by one of his blacks. In this he got entangled inthe scrubs, and narrowly escaped losing his track—but thewonderful quickness and accuracy of observation which hiscompanion possessed, in common with all the aborigines, was ofgreat service in enabling him to regain his camp. They then wenton their way through a country of alternate flats and scrub,varied by some rich plains. The wild marjoram which they foundhere they collected, adding it to their tea, as well as using itfrequently as a condiment in their soup. On January 26, theycrossed Newman's Creek—a tributary of theMackenzie—and here Leichhardt planted his last peachstones, with some apprehension, however, that the frequent firesthat overran the country would prevent them reaching maturity. Onthe same day he came on the magnificent downs, out of which risethe "succession of almost isolated gigantic conical anddome-topped mountains, seeming to rest with a flat unbroken baseon the plains below," which last he named, and we know as, thePeak Downs. Unfortunately, the season was one of drought, and ona reconnoitring expedition on the 27th, both Leichhardt andCalvert suffered greatly from thirst, finding all thewatercourses dried up. In another expedition, Gilbert, thebotanist, found little water, but observed the sign of an anchoror broad arrow cut into a tree with a stone tomahawk. Keepingtheir camp stationary for about a week, but still exploring roundthe range, he met fresh objects of admiration every day. OnFebruary 6, they again started in a north-westerly direction, andgot involved in a series of ranges, probably spurs from asecondary range connected with the Peak Mountains. Travellingacross them, with their thick vegetation and deep valleys andravines, was exceedingly difficult. "The bullocks upset theirloads frequently in climbing up and down the rocky slope, and ourprogress was consequently slow." On the 10th he therefore alteredhis direction to NNE., and came to the head of Hughes' Creek inlatitude 22° 23'. On the 13th, he reached a river, which he namedthe Isaacs, whose bed he found dry. Here he camped by a waterhole on the bank, intending to examine the country in advance,and by this time he had reduced the six pounds of flour per diem,firstly, to three, and then to one and a-half. He had beentroubled by the desertion of his two blacks, who had growndiscontented and left him, but after a short interval, returned.Still reconnoitring the country as he went, he examined Coxen'sPeak and Range, and after a short rest on the Isaacs, continuedhis journey along that river, his blacks occasionallyinsubordinate and troublesome. Now and then he met with thenatives, with whom he seems to have kept on kindly terms. ByMarch 7, he had come to the heads of the Suttor, down which hetravelled for several days, passed its junction by the Cape orBelyando, until he reached the point, at which it ran into alarge river which he named the Burdekin. This he considers tohave formed the boundary of the second division of his journey,and here he found the most northern habitat of the blackswan.

Of the country thus passed over, he formed a higher opinionthan of the previous division. The basaltic character of theplains and open downs, thinly timbered with open forest, and theluxuriance of the grass excited his admiration. He, however,expressed fear that the supply of water would be inadequate tothe wants of the settler. In his lecture, before alluded to,delivered at Sydney, on August 18, 1846, he said:—

"If, at a close examination, a sufficient quantity ofwater should be found, a wide extent of country will be opened tothe squatter, who will travel with his herds without difficultyover the level country along the Isaacs and its tributaries, andwill ascend on gentle ridges to the plains of Peak Range, and,probably, still further to the westward, beyond another range ofpeaks which we perceived in that direction. He will strike thebeautiful country at the head of the Isaacs and the Suttor, overwhich at present numerous flocks of emus roam, and fill withanimation that immense tract of country which spreads out roundthe foot of Coxen's Peaks."

How far and how beneficially these predictions have beenrealised, we shall by and by see.

His course was next up the Burdekin, through a hilly tract,and on April 5, he had reached Robey's Range. Porter's Rangebeing visible, and the soil improving, until he came upon a largefield of basalt, in latitude 19° 58'. Still following the courseof the Burdekin, and through a country of very variable levels,but which he believed to be well adapted for grazing purposes, hearrived at the junction of the Clark on the 22nd of the samemonth, and of the Perry on the 24th. Crossing the Valley ofLagoons, and the heads of the Burdekin, he journeyed over theranges which divide the heads of the Lynd from those of thatriver with no greater trouble than the loss of a horse, which,however, he turned to account by drying the flesh of the animalfor eating. This he thought equal to that of a bullock, supposingboth to be in equal condition but hunger may have had somethingto do with such an apposition. He suffered considerable privationin his reconnoitring, being on one occasion fifty hours withoutwater, but the increasing prospect of success seems to havestimulated himself and his companions to renewed exertion; andthey had now reached the end of what he considered his thirdstage, and were on the verge of the plains whose coast line isformed by the Gulf of Carpentaria. He considered this part of thecountry to be "characterised by its supply of running water, byits primitive rocks, its limestone, its numerous ranges, and itsfine, open, well-grassed forest." If a settlement wereestablished on the east coast, he thought it should be "at themouth of the Burdekin, which I suppose to be at Cape Upstart onthe southern extremity of Halifax Bay"—a supposition,unfortunately, not borne out by subsequent exploration. Henoticed the difficulty of communication from the coast to theinterior, but rightly suggested that "practicable roads will nodoubt be found in the progress of colonization." The lapse oftwenty-eight years has seen strange changes in the condition andprospects of the country traversed by Leichhardt.

Resting awhile, the travellers celebrated the 24th of May (theQueen's Birthday) with a "fat cake," made of four pounds of flourand some suet, and with a pot of sugared tea. Sugar they had beenwithout, except for luxury or as a medicine, for a long time, andtheir salt was now exhausted. In a little while they becameaccustomed to relish their food without either. But privationincreased upon them. They pursued their journey along the Lynd,past Kirchner's Range, over rugged country, and, withconsiderable difficulty, falling in with frequent native campingplaces, until, on June 18, they rested to kill and cure one oftheir cattle.

"Although," (says Leichhardt), "we were most willingto celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, and torevive our own ambitious feelings at the memory of the deeds ofour illustrious heroes, we had nothing left but the saturatedrags of our sugar bags, which, however, we kept for the purpose,and which we now boiled up with our tea; our last flour wasconsumed three weeks ago, and the enjoyment of fat cake thereforewas not to be thought of."

The position was far from enviable, but they had not yetarrived at the worst. In the lower part of the Lynd they firstmet with the green tree ant, a spiteful insect, living in smallsocieties in rude nests constructed between the green leaves ofshady trees: and here they came across the tracks of analligator. When they arrived at latitude 15° 51' 26", theydetermined to leave the Lynd and strike to the west, having firstdiscovered and named its supposed tributary the Mitchell. Aftertravelling a few days, they began to experience significantindications of the hostility of the natives, which, on the 28th,culminated in a night attack, in which Gilbert, the botanist, waskilled, and Calvert and Roper severely wounded. After buryingGilbert, Leichhardt and the remainder of his party wearilycontinued their task, and on July 5, to their great joy, came insight of the salt water of the Gulf of Carpentaria. A line ofcommunication between the south-eastern coast of Australia andthe Gulf was at length opened. Then, by slow stages, they reachedthe "Albert" of Stokes in about a month; crossed the Plains ofPromise, and ascertained their extent, and on September 8, stillkeeping to the coast line, passed the line which now marks thewestern boundary of the colony of Queensland. They had thustraversed the fourth and fifth of the divisions in whichLeichhardt arranged his journey.

His observations on these portions are clear and ofconsiderable interest. He found—

"the same succession of rocks, granite, talc[s]histe,porphyry, and sandstone in descending to the Gulf which he foundat the east coast in ascending to the table-land. But limestonewas not to be met with on the west side of the York Peninsula,though it appeared extensively developed on the Burdekin. Basalthas broken through the various rocks, but the level countryitself is formed of a clayey ironstone with grains of quartz,which extended all round the Gulf to Port Essington, and may beconsidered of a newer formation. The Lynd was joined by severalrunning creeks, and was, in its whole course, well supplied withwater. The country was openly timbered and wellgrassed."

Of the Plains of Promise, he remarks:—

"Should a harbour be found at the head of the Gulf ofCarpentaria, which might allow ships to approach and moor insafety, it would not only open this fine country to colonization,but would allow the produce of the high land of the YorkPeninsula to be brought clown to the Gulf of Carpentaria, as wellas to the east coast. Cattle and horses could be easily drivenfrom coast to coast, and they would even fatten, as water andfeed are everywhere abundant."

The Plains of Promise have been opened to colonization, andare now occupied by herds of cattle, and even the produce of thehigh land of York's Peninsula seems to be no longerproblematical.

It is scarcely necessary in a history of Queensland, to extendthe narrative of this remarkable journey. Its interest, from thepoint at which Leichhardt had arrived, is confined to merepersonal adventure, for the character of the country did not varymuch from that of the regions which he had recently passed, or,where it did, only repeated the features of other rugged countryover which he had travelled. How far his party were harassed, maybe conceived from their preserving only one of their bullocks,losing all their dogs, having been compelled to destroy manyvaluable ornithological specimens, and being almost indebted forthe preservation of their lives to the offices of friendlynatives, whom they met as they neared Port Essington. On December17, they reached that settlement weary and worn, having travelled3,000 miles over a previously unknown country, and been nearlyfifteen months absent from every trace of civilised society. Nooverland explorer in Australia has achieved so much asLeichhardt, and many of them had far more ample means.

He stayed a month at Port Essington, when, a small schoonercalling at the settlement, he embarked for Sydney, where hisarrival was welcomed, first with surprise, and then with theenthusiasm which anticipated success is apt to generate. "Allclasses pressed forward to testify their joy at ourre-appearance, which we found had been long despaired of, and tooffer their aid in supplying our wants." The adventurer of 1844was the hero of 1846. Rather more than £2,500—the jointcontribution of the Government and of publicsubscriptions—was divided in suitable proportions betweenthe party, and the gold medals of the Royal GeographicalSocieties of London and Paris were awarded to Leichhardt when thenews reached Europe. Unhappily, he did not live to receive them.There was something of the spirit of Alexander in theman—conquests achieved only stimulated to enterprises ofgreater difficulty.

During all this time the progress of the infant settlement hadnot been slow. As I have said, the pressure of the times hadcompelled the squatters of New South Wales to turn theirattention to fresh modes of utilizing their flocks and herds thanthe sale of wool, or of sheep and cattle for ordinaryconsumption. Accident had combined with experiment to perfect theprocess of boiling down carcases for the production of tallow,and an establishment for such a purpose was founded at KangarooPoint, then a suburb of Brisbane, and now a ward of themunicipality. A seam of coal was opened—although with notangible result—at Red-bank, on the banks of the BremerRiver, the mineral having been previously discovered, both byAllan Cunningham and Mr. Andrew Petrie, to extend over a largearea of country from that locality in the direction of the PineMountain, about twelve miles north of Ipswich. There was, infact, a good deal of general advancement, as well as a spasmodicsort of energy, which looked promising for the prospects of thedistrict. And, in the fulness of time, that indispensableaccessory of civilization—the newspaper, was to beestablished.

For some time, Mr. Arthur Sydney Lyon, a gentleman of goodeducation, indomitable energy, and respectable connections, hadcontemplated commencing a newspaper in Moreton Bay. The want ofsuch a convenience was beginning to be felt, inasmuch as, save inofficial reports or infrequent private correspondence, thecondition, wants, and resources of the district were almostunnoticed in the parent colony, while its very existence wastacitly ignored or forgotten in the more distant ones. Many ofthe residents who had been accustomed elsewhere to the advantagewhich a public journal affords, began to talk of its necessity,and an active canvass for subscribers resulted in suchencouragement to Mr. Lyon, that he entered into arrangements withMr. James Swan, a printer, resident at that time in Sydney, forthe printing and publication of the proposed newspaper. Theinducements held out by him, however, seemed to Mr. Swan, when hearrived, little likely to be realised. There were but few housesin Brisbane, and the streets existed only in name. But theassurances of the settlers calmed his apprehensions. He was toldthat the interior would afford advertisements, subscribers, andcash. By degrees the faith necessary to enterprise was instilledinto him, and theMoreton Bay Courier commenced itsexistence on June 20, 1846. It was a modest weekly sheet of fourpages, about half the size of an ordinary newspaper, and wasprinted in the garrets of a brick building, afterwards occupiedas an inn, and since burned down, at the north-west corner ofQueen and Albert Streets, Brisbane. From such a small beginningit has grown with the growth of the colony into a valuable andimportant property, and in connection with theQueenslander, its worthy accompaniment, continues to holdwhat Johnson would have called a considerable position amongstthe colonial press.*

[* I am indebted to Mr. Swan for the almostinestimable advantage of the perusal of a complete file of theCourier from its commencement, which I gratefullyacknowledge.]

The motto chosen by the editor was: "I am in the place where Iam demanded of conscience to speak the truth;" and in his firstleading article be became somewhat grandiloquent.

"TheCourier has been established, incompliance with the almost unanimous wish of every resident ofcharacter, property, and intelligence in this extensive district.The unfounded impressions that prevail elsewhere respecting theclimate, capabilities, and resources of this portion of thecolony, and the absence of those beneficial moral influenceswhich have their origin in the press, have long rendered a localjournal necessary. The commercial importance of the communityindeed demands its introduction. Churches, schools, stores,shops, inns, dwelling, houses, and erections for variouspurposes, have rapidly risen; settlements have become villages,villages towns. Our staple articles of export—wool andtallow—have strikingly increased; and with their increasefresh incitement has been afforded to industry and enterprise.And, as the position of the grazing and trading classes, who formthe bulk of our infant society, has improved, and population hasaugmented prosperity has placed requirements that can onlyappertain to an advanced state of society. Perhaps none is sourgent as that which we aim to supply."

A week afterwards the heading of the leading articleis—"We want a Bank."

The statistics of Moreton Bay at this time will probablyprovoke a smile from the reader, if sought for to substantiate"the commercial importance of the community." The number ofhouses in the then County of Stanley—which comprised allthe country east of the Great Dividing Range—was, accordingto a census taken in the preceding March, 255, of which 41 wereof stone or brick, and 214 of wood. But of these, 50 wereunfinished, although only 6 were uninhabited. The population ofNorth Brisbane was 483; of South Brisbane, 346; of Ipswich, 103;of the squatting stations, 452; and the military and governmentestablishments numbered 185. There was the usual disproportion ofthe sexes—1,122 males, and 477 females. 538 could not read,and 857 could read and write. There were 6 lawyers and 6 doctors,14 clergymen, and 13 "other educated persons"—a ratherambiguous description. Only 23 were engaged in agriculture. Onthe Darling Downs 551 males and 107 females formed thepopulation; 1 doctor served for the diseases of the people; andno lawyer being mentioned there, it is to be presumed that noneexisted at that time to vex the souls of clients with costs. Of"other professions"—a puzzling sort ofnomenclature—there was 1; 147 out of the whole number couldneither read nor write; and upon the whole, it does not seem tohave been a very literate community. As to religion, the numbersof the various denominations stood thus:—Church of England,1,110; Church of Scotland, 338; Roman Catholics, 575; WesleyanMethodists, 24; other Protestants, 59; Jews, 10; Pagans andMohammedans (coolies), 28; other persuasions, 13.

Official documents are not always the safest data to adopt. Aletter in theCourier, of July 11, adverting to the numberof clergymen supposed to be in the County of Stanley, affirmsthat there were only two ministering in the district, one a RomanCatholic, another of the Episcopal Church. The others had eitherleft the colony, or abandoned their functions for more lucrativeor less laborious pursuits. The Anglican minister seems to havehad an active time of it, for it is said that he—

"not having any residence in town, and having to makefrequent tours of duty among the squatting stations, can onlycome in occasionally on Saturday night, perform service on Sundaymorning, and start off again to his labours in the bush eitherimmediately after service or on Monday morning."

As a pendant to this description, I may add, that I do notfind any schoolmaster or teacher specially mentioned in thecensus returns. Such persons were probably either non-existent ornot thought worthy of mention. But the Darling Downs districteven then had 14,000 cattle and 210,000 sheep grazing on itsfertile plains.

As a natural consequent, the tax-gatherer came on the heels ofthe prosperity which the editor of theCourier depicted inhis inaugural article. A Collector of Customs arrived on June 13,1846, and his satellites soon followed. The establishment was nota very profitable one, the expenses of the first year amountingto more than the collections.

Contemporaneously with the new paper, a steamer called theExperiment was started to ply on the river betweenBrisbane and Ipswich, and a flour mill and a new saw mill wereprojected. The steamer fares between the two townships were, bythe cabin, six shillings; by the fore-cabin, four shillings;freight, per ton, was seven shillings and sixpence, afterwardsreduced to six shillings, and wool was charged at two shillingsper bale. Considering the difficulties which beset the effort,the owner of theExperiment was singularly moderate,although the fares between Brisbane and Sydney at the time rangedfrom £2 to £4. Few of the older residents of the southerndistricts will fail to remember the energy and spirit, which, ina chequered and sorrowful struggle through life, marked everyenterprise of poor Pearce. The greater part of his career inMoreton Bay may be fitly described as one of experiment. Towardsthe end of his life, pain and poverty imparted a querulousirritability to a temper naturally active and impatient, but itis not easy to appreciate the advantages which his spirit andexample, displayed at a critical time, conferred upon a communityfar more willing to complain of defects than to recogniseexertion.

And having thus seen the struggling settlement endowed with anewspaper, a custom house, and a steamer, I close thechapter.

{Page 66}

CHAPTER V.

1846-1849.

Proposed New Northern Colony forReformed Convicts at Port Curtis—Failure inDisembarkation—Abandonment of the Undertaking—Recallof Sir George Gipps, and Arrival of Sir CharlesFitzroy—Origin of the Australian Crown Lands System, andthe "Orders in Council"—The Transportation System, andinfluence of Scarcity of Labour in Gaining Support for it in theDistrict—Attempt to procure Coolie Labour—FirstSuggestion of "Separation"—Social Progress andCondition—Sir Thomas Mitchell's Discoveries—Kennedy'sFirst—Leichhardt's Last Expedition—Courts of PettySessions Established—Character of the SettlersVindicated.

While the labours of explorers and theexertions of the settlers were thus extending the boundaries anddisclosing the capabilities of the district of Moreton Bay, theHome Government were not unmindful of the facilities it offeredto relieve them of one difficulty—that of dealing withtheir convicts. Lord Stanley, on March 3, 1846, describing theproposals of the Colonial Office, said, in the House ofLords—

"the Government to which he belonged had thoughtproper to appoint an additional colony to the north of the Colonyof New South Wales, beyond the limits assigned to that colony,the new colony not being too near the tropics to prevent itsbeing healthy. It was intended that a number of these convictswho had reached the most advanced—that was thelightest—stage of penal discipline, should go to thatcolony, where they would be furnished with provisions for alimited period, and also a portion of land. They would also bepermitted, if they thought proper, after a certain interval, toemigrate to the adjoining colonies and become the servants of theoutlying population of these colonies. The class of convicts whowould be sent to the new colony, would be those, who, when theyarrived there, would be in the position of having received aconditional pardon."

This proposal met with great favour in the district. Thesquatters saw, or thought they saw, a chance of obtaining analmost unlimited supply of that labour, from the want of whichthey had suffered severely, as well as in the new settlement anoutlet for their surplus stock. But one part of the plan wasstrenuously objected to—the giving land to the convicts;thus, in the language of theCourier: "placing them in amuch better position than the men of virtuous character." Theinducement to the "exiles," as they were called, to stay in thenew settlement, which such a gift presented, was, it appears tome, more appreciable by the employers of labour than any argumentderived from merely moral considerations. But whatever might havebeen their opinion, the scheme once set on foot was prosecutedwith vigour. The permanent Under Secretary for the Colonies laida minute before the Lords of the Treasury, containing a summaryof the principal points; and, "My Lords'" reply:

"The necessity of affording relief to Van Diemen'sLand is so urgent, and the obligation upon the Government offinding for the better class of exiles who have made someprogress in reform, a relief from that contamination to which thepresent state of Van Diemen's Land exposes them, is soimperative, that my Lords do not feel justified in refusing theiracquiescence in the formation of the new settlement, as proposedby the Secretary of State for the Colonies—approved as ithas also been by the Secretary of State for the HomeDepartment."

And so the necessary measures were proceeded with.

By this plan the classes to be sent were two; all exiles (thatis, convicts transported with pardons, to take effect immediatelyon their landing), and all pardoned convicts in Van Dieman's Landunable to earn an independent subsistence. Measures were also tobe adopted to secure a proper proportion of the sexes. Rations,bedding, etc., were to be provided for the convicts for one year,after which they were to maintain themselves, professedly on landgranted to them for cultivation. £10,000 was to be expended onpublic works, the settlers contributing labour. Free emigrationwas permitted but not encouraged. The staff by which thispopulation was to be governed, was thus settled:—Asuperintendent, at £800 per annum; a colonial secretary, at £300;a clerk, at £200; a chairman of quarter sessions, at £300; aclerk of the peace, at £200; a sheriff, at £100; a chaplain, at£250; a land surveyor, at £300; and three magistrates, at £100each. The cost would not have been great on the whole, while therelative importance attached to the offices, as indicated by thesalaries, seems curiously at variance with common routine; butthe plan contained within itself the elements of failure.

Lieutenant-Colonel Barney, of the Royal Engineers, wasappointed superintendent, and arrived in Sydney in September,1846. Early in the following November, he called in at MoretonBay in theCornubia steamer, having on board with him asurveying staff to assist in determining the locality of the newsettlement. The New South Wales Government was in the mean timebusy in selecting his subordinates. When he had chosen a site, inthe vicinity of Port Curtis, the superintendent returned toSydney, and in January, 1847, left for his Government in theLord Auckland, which was to be followed by theThomasLowry with the remainder of the military stores and othernecessaries. Sanguine anticipations were indulged in of successin the formation of the settlement, which, it was hoped, wouldterminate the perplexities of the squatters of Moreton Bay, andat once supply them with labour and furnish them with amarket.

These anticipations were, perhaps happily, not realised. Thefirst proceeding indicated the unfitness of the new Governor forhis task. In order to strike terror into the solitude, cannonwere brought on deck for a salute in honor of the speciallanding; and such pomp and circumstance as military and officialuniforms, receptions, presentations, and the like could ensure,were enjoined. In the midst of these preparations, the shipstruck on a sandbank off Fairy Island, and the whole ceremony wasdisarranged. The crew and passengers landed as best they might,and the arrival of two small vessels from Brisbane prevented anydanger of starvation. After much irresolution, Colonel Barney gotto the main land, was rowed up a creek, and is understood to havedecided upon a site for the town he was not even to lay out; forhere his authority ceased. While waiting in helpless uncertaintywhether to stay, or to return to Sydney, a despatch was receivedfrom the Imperial Government announcing that the letters patentunder which North Australia had been created into a separatecolony, would be revoked, and directing that the establishmentformed there should be immediately broken up. Colonel Barney andhis officers were to be employed, as occasion might serve, in theColony of New South Wales. There was nothing to be done but tocomply with these directions; the philanthropic plan ofconverting "exiles" into agriculturists was abandoned, and, withthat abandonment, the hopes which had been formed of the supplyof labour, and the consumption of stock for Moreton Bay, fadedaway also. The only tangible result of the whole, was a bill for£20,000, the cost of the experiment.

Before Colonel Barney had arrived in Sydney, a change ofGovernors had taken place. Sir G. Gipps had become involved inacrimonious controversies with his new Council, which destroyedall hopes of amicable administration; his health began to giveway, and at length, on July 11, 1846, he left for England. Verymuch of the acerbity which marked the disputes prevalent duringthe latter portion of his governorship, arose upon questionsconnected partially with the right of taxation, and prominentlywith the interests of the pastoral community. These questions,however, belong more immediately to the history of New SouthWales, and having been discussed at length in the works of Dr.Lang and Mr. Flanagan, it is scarcely necessary here to repeat atwice-told tale. Sir George Gipps was succeeded by Sir CharlesAugustus Fitzroy, a member of the ducal family of Grafton, whohad previously filled appointments of a similar nature, and, asis usual under circumstances like those we have described, wascredited with all the qualifications in which his predecessorshad been supposed to be deficient. He landed in Sydney on August3, being received with enthusiasm: his "manly and dignifieddeportment," according to theSydney Morning Herald, ofthat day, "seeming to presage golden auguries of his futurepopularity among us." By way. I suppose, of enforcing thisopinion, the same journal thus describes the subject of itsprophecy:—

"In person, Sir Charles is dignified and commanding;his countenance agreeable and intelligent; while his manner andbearing eminently display that dignified courtesy and chastenedaffability which form the distinguishing characteristics of ahigh-born British gentleman."

Had the new Governor's qualifications for government beenequal to the personal ones thus flatteringly attributed to him,he would have found full occupation for all. The whole colony wasin a state of ferment, and its principal leaders were more orless in collision with the Colonial Office, on the subjects whichprovoked it, Foremost of these, was that of the land laws, whichwere, at that time, in a very chaotic condition, and on whoseproper nature, then as now, the most contradictory opinionsprevailed. Whether the upset price of land on alienation shouldbe five shillings or twenty; whether of the two—totalalienation or sale at a quit rent—would be most desirable:what sort of tenure should be given to the squatters, or whetherany certain tenure should be given to them at all; what should bedone with the land revenue, or who should have the disposal ofit?—these were the questions on which the colonial mind wassorely exercised, and in which a very puzzling inconsistency wasdisplayed by both the home authorities and colonial politicians.*Next to this question, came that of transportation, in which,from the nature of the community, disputes were constant andbitter, while the ill feeling thus engendered, was at timesexasperated by the tantalizing course pursued by the ColonialOffice, whose authorities clung with great tenacity to the ideaof substituting for the penal system, which had been abandoned, areformatory one, in which the colonies should complete theamendment—which Pentonville and Portland, it was hoped, hadcommenced. And behind the two, and soon to assume equalproportions, was the framing of the new Constitution, on whichthe colony was to be governed; on which as great a variety ofopinion prevailed as there were politicians to express it. Theposition of an Australian Governor was, at that time, one of muchgreater weight and responsibility than it is now; and I can verywell imagine that Sir Charles Fitzroy's, between the ColonialOffice and the colony, was not one through whose difficulties afine person and commanding deportment would prove sufficientguides.

[* Mr. Robert Lowe, then a barrister in Sydney,now haling a commanding position in the House of Commons, beganby advocating the quit rent system. In a few months afterwards hewas a warm defender of alienation by sale.]

In the question of dealing with the Crown lands, the districtof Moreton Bay was seriously interested, and that its importancewas thoroughly apprehended, may be gathered from the meetings anddiscussions which constantly took place. Not in the hope ofsupplying anything approaching to a complete view of the subject,but rather as an assistance to the reader in estimating itsnature, I propose to devote some space to a review of thelegislation connected with it.

Originally the lands of Australia seem to have been dealt withwithout reference to any sound or even deliberately arrived-atprinciple of distribution. In New South Wales they were evidentlylooked upon as constituting a fund from which to rewardservices—real or supposed—to subsidize a favourite,or to supply gratuities to convicts, who by their good behaviour,seemed to have merited encouragement. After the firstestablishment of the convict settlement, in 1788, GovernorPhillip made grants to some free immigrants and a few convicts,on condition of residence and cultivation. His successors, Hunterand Macquarie, continued the system on a large scale. WhenGovernor Brisbane was appointed in 1821, the Home Governmentdesired to provide employment for the necessary number ofconvicts whom its own opportunities were not sufficient to findwork for; and emigrants who could show that they had an availablecapital of from £500 upwards, were encouraged to go to the colonyby the promise of grants of land—the grunts varying fromone hundred acres to two thousand acres—the granteeundertaking to employ prisoners at the rate of one for everyhundred acres that he received. While this system was inoperation, the speculative mania of 1825 broke out in England,and one of its results was the formation of the AustralianAgricultural Company, with a nominal capital of £1,000,000sterling. To this company the Home Government granted a millionof acres, with unrestricted right of selection; ** and theexample they set was followed by not a few persons of influencein the old country who wanted an opening for spare capital orspeculative energy. But the evils arising from the favouritism orcorrupt practices, which such a system engendered, led to achange, when Sir Richard Bourke—one of the ablest governorsthat the colonies have yet seen—was appointed in 1831. Saleby auction was fixed upon as a method of alienation, thegeneral', upset price being five shillings per acre. This wasincreased to twelve shillings in the administration of hissuccessor, Sir George Gipps, and I believe, on hisrecommendation—that Governor having a somewhat exaggeratedidea of the value of land as a revenue producing commodity,especially town allotments, on which the most absurdly highprices were fixed. The Wakefield theory of "the sufficientprice," on which the colony of South Australia was founded, had,at this time, many supporters amongst the liberal philosophiceconomists of the old country, who almost alone turned theirattention to colonial subjects; and, as that was fixed by itsauthor at £1 per acre, the Government of the day, influenced bythe reasonings of the school to which I have alluded, and thepertinacious representations of Sir George Gipps as well,increased the upset price to that amount—a maximum whichmay be considered to have acquired a species of historic tenure,after the passing of the 5 and 6 Victoria, c. 36, in 1842.

[** This, however, was moderate, having regard tothe Western Australian precedent. On the settlement of thatcolony, enormous grants were made to individuals on very slightgrounds—the Governor, Sir James Stirling, getting manythousands of acres, Some of the fortunate recipients afterwardshawked their territories amongst the London speculators, sellingsome at threepence and fourpence per acre. [Indistinct word]differences of a farthing per acre were not despised.]

But, contemporaneously with the settlement by alienation ofland in the counties or districts which had been proclaimedwithin the limits of government in the colony of New South Wales,another species of occupation had grown up, which, at firstpermissive, gradually assumed something of the appearance of avested interest, and led to the existence of a class betweenwhich and the ordinary settlers on the soil, and the inhabitantsof the towns, there has been, for many years and throughout theAustralias, a continuous and sometimes bitter hostility. Thesewere the squatters, or in the more courteous designation adoptedby themselves, the pastoral tenants of the Crown—a bodywhose industry has exerted a vast influence both on thesettlement of the colonies and the trade and prosperity of theempire at large.

Its commencement was the result of an accident, or rather acombination of accidents, unexpectedly assisting the developmentof a premeditated plan. Captain Macarthur, an officer of the then102nd regiment of the line—or New South Walescorps—was, in 1803, sent home from New South Wales byGovernor King in punishment for his conduct in a duel with abrother officer. Before this he had paid considerable attentionto the breeding of sheep, having obtained a few pure merinos,which he crossed with the ordinary coarse-wooled sheep of thecolony, and by degrees formed what would now be considered a verysmall flock. Some of the wool from their fleeces he took homewith him, and shortly after his arrival, memorialised theGovernment on the subject, simply asking leave to "occupy asufficient tract of unoccupied lands to feed his flocks." Hisrequest might possibly have shared the fate of ninety-ninehundredths of similar applications, had it not been for a quarrelin England between the woolen manufacturers and their workmen,the latter objecting to the employment of anyone who had not beenapprenticed to the trade, and relying on an old prohibitorystatute of Queen Elizabeth's in their favour. Ultimately, thequestion turned on, whether wool was an article oflimited—interpreting that as of local—production. Mr.Macarthur's specimens were submitted to the manufacturers, who,finding that they afforded the contradictory proof required,became instant and zealous in his support. In consequence ofthat, instead of a license to occupy, he received a grant of5,000 acres of land, and a promise of 5,000 more if he succeededin proving the possibility of the export of fine wool in quantityfrom New South Wales. He returned to that colony with somecarefully selected sheep from the royal flocks, and continued hisefforts, selling annually a moderate quantity of his produce tosettlers who were desirous of following his example. But he hadto bear the discouragement and ridicule which is the natural lotof pioneers who are venturesome enough to turn from the commonpath, and have much or all to learn. By 1820, his flock hadreached about two thousand in number, three hundred of which weresaid to be pure merinos; the whole number of sheep at that timein New South Wales being about one hundred thousand. Into thedifficulties resulting to him from his participation in thequarrels which unhappily occurred at the time of Governor Bligh'sadministration, and hindered his operations, it is not necessaryfor me to enter.*

[* See "Lang's History of New South Wales."Through the kindness of the late Mr. Fitz, Clerk of theLegislative Council, I have read the original report ofMacarthur's trial in England for mutiny in the arrest of Bligh,and Lang's statement seems to me to be thoroughly borne out. Thereport gives one a curious notion of the state of Government andof morals in those days.]

Macarthur, however, was not, as has been generally claimed forhim, and believed, entitled to claim the sole honor of foundingthe greatest industry in Australia. The late venerable SamuelMarsden, the first colonial chaplain in Australia, harassed bythe difficulties of his situation, returned to England from NewSouth Wales with a retiring Governor (Captain King) early in1806.

"He had" (says his biographer), "discerned thewonderful capacities of Australia for sheep farming, and havingbrought home some wool and found it much approved of by themanufacturers, he therefore ventured to petition George III. fora couple of merino sheep from the Royal Farm at Windsor toimprove the breed."

The king gave him five, which he carried with him on hisreturn, and found all the resultant advantages he anticipated.The objects to which the royal gift was to be applied, aredescribed at length in the thirteenth chapter of this volume; butthat he is entitled to share with Macarthur all the honors of apioneer in the growth of colonial wool for British manufacturers,there cannot be a shadow of a doubt.

When Macarthur and Marsden had demonstrated that wool of therequired quality could be produced, they became prophets in theeyes of those who had derided them. The age of testimonials nothaving then arrived, their admirers desired to recognise theirsagacity by participating in their success. The Governmentencouraged the pursuit by granting annual licenses for freeoccupation. One of the most ultra of the old squatting schoolthus summarises the progress it made, and the aims that progresssuggested:—

"The lands were lying waste; the Government verywisely encouraged their occupation, and licensed any free andrespectable person who wished to occupy them. Commissioners wereappointed to manage these waste lands, and the occupantsvoluntarily paid an assessment to defray the Commissioners'expenses and that of the police under their direction, so thattheir occupation might not cost the Government anything. But inthe course of time when nearly all the available lands within apracticable distance were occupied, great evils were experiencedfrom the arbitrary acts of these functionaries, who assumed greatpower in defining the extent of runs by lessening one run toenlarge another. They were accused of receiving bribes, and ofacting very unfairly between man and man. The occupants werepowerless against the Government, as they had only an annuallicense—they could not be otherwise thandissatisfied—they required a better tenure to secure themagainst the irresponsible acts of an arbitrary Governor and hisneedy subordinates." **

[** The Crown Lands of Australia. By WilliamCampbell, M.L.C. Blackwood, London and Edinburgh, 1855, p. 10.Campbell went to England as the representative of the Victoriansquatters, to advocate their right to a "preferable right ofpurchase" over the whole or any part of their runs, and this bookwas part of his advocacy.]

The squatting license fee was £10 per annum. Sir George Gippswished to compel the licensee, in addition to the payment of hisfee and assessment, to buy annually 320 acres of his run, at a £1per acre, the revenue thus raised to be applied to the increaseof immigration. This was felt as a great grievance by thesquatters, and was protested against as illegal andunconstitutional by many who had little general sympathy withthem—foremost among whom was the Rev. Dr. Lang. When thesquatters published their counter proposals, he, with equalvigour, contested their justice; they in turn resented hisopposition and forgot his advocacy.

Whether their wishes were reasonable or not, the industry hadgrown to such dimensions by the period of which I am now writing,that direct legislation was acknowledged on all sides to berequired. The export of wool, which had been under eightythousand pounds weight in 1819, reached in 1845, 17,364,734 lbs.,and the time had obviously arrived for dealing with tenure of theland, of which so large a production necessitated the occupation.After much petitioning, wrangling, and correspondence, the Act 9and 10 Victoria, c. 104, was passed in 1846, and, under that Act,the celebrated orders in Council, which have been regarded as theMagna Charta of the squatters' tenure, were issued in March ofthe following year.

The orders were simple enough in arrangement, but not alwaysclear in expression. By them the colony of New South Wales wasdivided into "settled," "intermediate," and "unsettled"districts. In Moreton Bay the settled districts comprised thethen County of Stanley, and all lands lying within three milesfrom the sea "measured in a straight line;" it had no"intermediate" district, and therefore the great bulk of the landwas treated as "unsettled." By the rules to be enforced in such adistrict, leases of runs for fourteen years were authorised to begranted for pastoral purposes, the lessee having permission tocultivate for his own use, but not for sale or barter. Theminimum annual rent to be paid for any run was to be £10, thecarrying capability not being allowed to be less than for fourthousand sheep, or an equivalent number of cattle, according to ascale to be fixed by the Governor; and £2 10s. per annum was tobe added for every additional thousand that the run might beestimated as able to carry. The mode of estimate and payment Ineed not trouble the reader with. During the continuance of thelease of a run, the land was not to be open to purchase by anyother person than the lessee, and to him in quantities of notless than one hundred and sixty acres at a time, and at a minimumprice of £1 per acre, the Governor having the power of increasingit if he saw fit. No lot thus sold was to have a water frontageof greater proportion than 440 yards, "reckoned in a straightline," to 160 acres in quantity. The ninth section of the secondchapter reserved to the Government the power of granting orselling—

"any lands within the limits of the run, or landscomprised in such lease, for public purposes, or disposing of, insuch other manner as far as the public interest may seem best,such lands as may be required for the sites of churches, schools,or parsonages, or for the construction of high roads, railways,and railway stations, or other internal communications, whetherby land or water; or for the use or benefit of the aboriginalinhabitants of the country, or for public buildings, or as placesfor the interment of the dead, or places for the recreation andamusement of the inhabitants of any town or village, or as thesites of public quays, or landing-places on the sea coast orshores of navigable streams; or for the purpose of sinkingshafts, and digging for coal, iron, copper, lead, or otherminerals; or for any other purpose of public defence, safety,utility, convenience, or enjoyment, or for otherwise facilitatingthe improvement and settlement of the colony; but so that thequantity of land which may be granted er sold to any railwaycompany shall not exceed in all the rate of one hundred acres forevery mile thereof in length." *

[* Compare this with modern land grantschemes.]

In the case of a railway being made through an unsettleddistrict, all lands within two miles of the line might beresumed, and sold "at the end" of each successive year "from thedate of the lease. Occupants of Crown lands who had been inlicensed occupation foe one year before the order in Council cameinto effect, and all who had been occupants for a shorter periodwere, at the expiration of twelve months from the date of theirlicense, declared entitled to demand leases of their respectiveruns. There were several provisions for tenders for new runs, andfor determination of the right as between competitors for a run,which it is not necessary to recount here; but one of thoserelating to forfeiture is worth quoting, as illustrative of thesupposed, or, as some say, the real character of thetimes:—

"In the event of his (the lessee's) conviction by ajustice of the district for any offence against the law, the casemay be enquired into within three months after the conviction bytwo or more justices who, if they think fit, may judge the leaseto be forfeited, with or without compensation for the value ofthe improvements, according to the nature of theoffence."

It must have been consolatory to the possible subjects of sucha regulation to know that any forfeiture thus decreed requiredthe sanction of the Governor before it could be put in force. Thefifteenth section was of more general importance. Upon theexpiration of a lease, the lessee was to have the option ofbuying the run at a valuation of it in its unimproved state,starting with a minimum of twenty shillings per acre. If declinedby the previous lessee, the improvements were to be valued andthe upset price was to be calculated on the joint value of theland and improvements, the worth of the latter to be paid to theprevious occupant. If no part of the run were sold, the lesseewas entitled to a renewal at a rent estimated on its carryingcapability in its improved state, but not to be increased by morethan fifty per cent. on the old rent; if not more than one-fourthwere sold, he was entitled to a renewal for the remainder on thesame conditions, but nothing was said of what was to be done ifmore than one-fourth were alienated. In the intermediatedistricts the leases were to be for only eight years, power beingreserved of resumption at any time on compensation forimprovements, and sixty days' previous notice. In the settleddistricts the leases were to be from year to year.

Contemporaneously with giving effect to these orders withinthe colony, an Act to regulate the assessment on stock depasturedoutside the settled districts, was passed in the LegislativeCouncil. The rate was fixed at a halfpenny for every sheep, threehalfpence for every head of cattle, and threepence for everyhorse; the owners of runs being required to make returns of thenumbers of each description depastured by them.

I have gone more into detail on this subject than may at firstsight be interesting to the general reader; but it is to beremembered, that these orders formed the grounds for agitationand dispute up to the time that responsible Government wasconceded to the colonies; that they were long after that timeresorted to as a sort of text book of land legislation; and thata correct apprehension of their bearing is essential to a rightunderstanding of the disputes which, for years, raged between thepastoral lessees and their opponents, as to the rights ofrun-holders, and the most just and expedient method of dealingwith the public lands. I have not, however, thought it necessaryto overload this history by any recapitulation of the numeroussubsidiary regulations that were issued subsequently as to thedetailed method of carrying the Orders and Assessment Act intoeffect.

Looking back at the orders, after a lapse of nearlythirty-five years, they seem to me to have been framed in a veryindulgent spirit towards the class most interested. It hadsubstantially what it asked—security of tenure until thepublic requirements called for the resumption of the land; and ithad leases of a length which, to men who had been subject to ayearly and uncertain license—and in the colonies where thelong terms, general in the old country, were then, and are evennow, unknown—must have been more favourable than couldreasonably have been, or, in fact, was, anticipated.Nevertheless, the orders were received with a good deal ofgrumbling in the district of Moreton Bay; but in some respects,on grounds directly opposite to those taken up by the class whohad been most clamorous for the settlement, with which they nowprofessed to be discontented. The restriction of the lease to aminimum,—which, as the carrying capacity of the land wasthen estimated, involved large areas on whose extension nolimitation was set, and the prohibition of cultivation, werespecially attacked.

"We had long indulged" (wrote theCourier,with great pertinency) "the hope, that some encouragement wouldhave been given to agriculturists as well as sheep farmers. Whythe two classes should not have been put on the same footing withrespect to the licensed occupation of the land, we are at a lossto comprehend; or why the poor man, with his 500 or 1,000 sheep,should not have been permitted to occupy a portion of this vastterritory, we are likewise unable to conjecture. The small farmsystem, which has found many able advocates in this colony andelsewhere, is thus effectually knocked on the head, and the poor,industrious man can never hope to rise to a higher grade thanthat of a labourer."

More weight than would otherwise attach to this objection,accrues from the fact, that it was urged by what was regarded asa squatter's advocate at the time. The forfeiture clause, whichmade the legally unimpeached moral character of a lessee—asdeterminable by, it might be, hostile Justices of the Peace, whocould try him for "any offence," and on their own meremotion—an essential condition to the retention of a run,improved or not, was regarded as a covert insult to the wholeclass of squatters. What was most to be regretted, was thecareless and blundering phraseology of the ninth or generalreservation clause in the second chapter of the orders, whichleft an opening for those claims by lessees as against the publicto the freehold of their runs, when the discovery of gold hadenormously increased their value, which formed the subject ofthat lengthened controversy which has left behind it so muchdistrust and ill-feeling. Great outcry was made by the "Liberal"party against the fourteen years' leases, as what was calledlocking-up the country from settlement, but, perhaps, withinsufficient reason. When the country was wanted, as in Victoria,it was taken. No one could at the time have anticipated the golddiscoveries, and had not they occurred, it is questionable if theleases might not have been renewed in the majority of instancesfor another fourteen years without detriment to the publicinterest.

This, however, was the condition in which the new Governorfound the land laws—a settlement like the conclusion ofRasselas—in which nothing was concluded, at least in theestimation of the public, who were supposed to be satisfied. Theywere displeased with the upset price, and discontented with theauction system; some thinking the land laws too liberal, and thegreat majority denouncing them as narrow in principle and unjustin operation. Earl Grey looked at his work with considerablecomplacency—he had, as he thought, got rid of a troublesomeagitation, in reality he had laid the foundation for half adozen, each still more troublesome.

On the transportation question, there was at this time, littleoutward difference of opinion in the district of Moreton Bay. Theintroduction of the convict, fresh from conviction and sentence,all agreed on objecting to; but the establishment of some schemefor the admission of prisoners who had served a portion of theirtime, and, by apparent good conduct, earned some remission ofpunishment, met with favour by the majority of the then scantypopulation. Transportation in its old form had been discontinuedsince 1840, and it was so well understood by the colonists thatit was never to be renewed, that Mr. Gladstone, in opening thesubject, did not care to controvert the reasonableness of theimpression. But his successor, Earl Grey, had his own view on thesubject, and most of the squatters and a considerable number ofthe population of New South Wales, headed by the celebratedWilliam Charles Wentworth (a lawyer of extraordinary force ofcharacter and splendid oratorical powers), were not wanting ineffort to assist him in carrying them into effect. Judging fromthe tone of theCourier of that day, I should judge, thatin this part of the then colony, the friends of the "exiles," themild term then in fashion, were in the ascendant.

That the want of labour had a principal effect in determiningthe course pursued by the settlers in the then outlying districtsof New South Wales, I cannot, doubt. In their despair they turnedto all quarters whence they had reason to suppose it might beobtained—to China, to the South Seas, to India; but whilethey were thus troubled, a despatch from Mr. Gladstone, datedApril 30, 1846, to the Governor of New South Wales, gave a newdirection to their efforts. In that letter, while disclaiminganything like a renewal of the old system of transportation, orsuggesting any definite plan, he stated that—

"it would be acceptable to Her Majesty's Governmentif the members of the Legislative Council of the colony shouldshow a disposition to concur in the opinion, that a modified andcarefully regulated introduction of convict labour into New SouthWales, or into some part of it, may, under present circumstances,be advisable."

The hint was sufficient to arouse the anxious squatters intoimmediate activity. The Legislative Council sittings commenced onOctober 8, and a select committee to enquire into and report uponthe despatch was immediately appointed. The committee brought uptheir report on the 31st. In that document they recommended theannual importation of five thousand male and an equal number offemale convicts of the milder kind; a simultaneous freeimmigration being carried out to a similar extent. A few daysafterwards, and immediately before the Council was prorogued, thereport was ordered to be printed for general information anddiscussion, a similar privilege being denied to a petitionagainst transportation in any shape, which had been presented byMr. Charles Cowper.

While the main matter was thus left in abeyance, thestockholders of the district held a meeting at Ipswich, at whichit was resolved to petition the superintendent of the intendedcolony of North Australia to permit "the departure of a certainnumber of expirees from North Australia in search of workimmediately on their arrival at the seat of your Government." Astrong article appeared in theCourier, advocating thecourse recommended, but as the proposed settlement fell through,nothing came of the meeting, or of the dinner which followed, orof the article which may be supposed to have derived some vigourfrom that convivial termination. Disappointed so far, thesquatters held another meeting at Brisbane on May 31, to considera proposition made for the importation of labour—from VanDiemen's Land, and from the South Sea Islands, when resolutionsapproving the plan were carried, and subscriptions entered into,but I do not see that anything further was done in the matter.Subsequently an Imperial circular, prohibiting the transportationof criminals from one colony to another, was sent to theGovernment of New South Wales, and thus anything like the forcedintroduction of labour from the other colonies becameimpracticable. The importation, however, of "exiles" kept hold ofthe attention both of the home and colonial governments. When theLegislative Council re-assembled in Sydney in April, 1848, thesubject was again alluded to in the Governor's speech, and adespatch of Earl Grey's, relative to it, was laid before theCouncil. His lordship, although not assenting to the viewspreviously stated by that body in the report of their committee,yet adopted the principles it embodied, and the Council lost notime in meeting his wishes. On April 6, they passed a set ofresolutions pledging themselves to co-operate with Her Majesty'sGovernment in carrying out the policyrecommended—unconscious that the Secretary for the Colonieshad anticipated their resolve by despatching in the previousDecember a small detachment of "exiles" in theMount StuartElphinstone, which reached Sydney,viâ Hobarton, onJune 6. This does not, however, seem to have disturbed thefriendly feeling now apparently established—and the renewalof this modified form of transportation seems to have beenaccepted as a certainty.

Contemporaneously, as I have said, great efforts were made todevise means for bringing free immigrants to the district, andconstant complaints were made that its wants did not receive dueattention from New South Wales. The complaints seem to me to havebeen louder than the efforts to remove their cause were genuine.Immigration to New South Wales, which had been for some timeintermittent, was resumed in August, 1847, but the intelligencedid not deter the stockholders and employers of labour frommeeting in Brisbane in January, 1848, to form an association forthe importation of labour from India. Between three and fourhundred labourers were subscribed for, and the Governor wasmemorialised to assist in getting some of the restrictions whichwere in force in India on that sort of traffic removed. TheGovernment, however, refused to interfere, on the ground that theproposed conjoint introduction of "exiles" and free immigrantsrendered that of Indian Labour unnecessary—a conclusionwhich the deputation, charged with presenting the memorial,combatted, because "the Indian immigrant was more adapted thanthe European one for the purposes of shepherding"—anargument whose force the New South Wales Government declined toadmit. Whether discouraged by this reception, or hopeful of thearrival of "exiles," I cannot say, but as far as practicalresults are concerned, the Indian Labour Association went the wayof its predecessors. The station of Burrandowan, in the BurnettDistrict, was, I am told on undoubted authority, formed duringthis year, by Mr. Gordon Sandeman, one of our oldest and mostrespected colonists, entirely with Coolie labour imported byhimself. The experiment he regarded as altogether successful, andnot the least noteworthy incident connected with it, is, that oneof the Coolies marrying, is now in an independent position inbusiness in Queensland, while two of his sons carried off prizesmore than once at their school examination. Twenty-seven freeimmigrants arrived from Sydney in April, but although describedas "decent and orderly," they do not seem to have been receivedas if their coming had been very anxiously looked for, and whilethe residents were pondering over the best means of getting acheaper description of labour, the dissolution of the LegislativeCouncil gave a new direction to their thoughts. But before itbroke up, the Governor laid before it a despatch from Earl Grey,recommending a colonial loan for free immigration, not exceedingin the whole, £400,000, and re-payable by instalments in two orthree years. The only interesting portion of that document to thehistorian of Queensland, is the following paragraph:—

"Bearing in mind the probability of a futureseparation of the northern from the southern districts of thecolony, a separate account should be kept of the expenditureincurred for immigration into each, in order that the debt mayeventually be divided between them in the sameproportion."

This shows that even then an early division was not unfamiliarto his lordship's mind.

But before that question could assume any definite shape, thatof the constitution under which both the parent colony and thoseseparated from it were to be governed, called for settlement. Itwas quite evident that the system which prevailed at the time wasone which could not last. The people were becoming more and morediscontented with it; the leading politicians of the colony weredissatisfied with its partial exclusion of them from any higherfunction than that of mere assent or dissent; and they foundevery avenue to political power closed against them. In theLegislative Council they exercised the slightest possible controlover either taxation or expenditure, and none whatever in thechoice of the ministers of the day, by whom they were outvoted atwill. All legislation on the most important matters affecting thepublic interest was denied to them, and their influence was inreality confined to the extent to which they might act uponpublic opinion—an opinion, whose expression found its wayto the Home Government almost as, and when, the Governor and hisadvisers thought proper. But while few denied the grievance,there was scant agreement as to the precise form the remedyshould assume. There were, of course, multitudinous andirreconcileable suggestions, and the Abbe Sieyes might have foundwork after his own heart in their incorporation into one or otherof the constitutions, of which he was so prolific an author.Besides, the distribution of the population had very much changedsince the establishment of the 1843 Council, and as it wasunderstood that the new one now to be elected would have to deal,at least suggestively, with electoral legislation in all itsbranches, there was, in the centres of population, no smallagitation and controversy on the main points at issue. To assistthe colonists, Earl Grey transmitted a despatch to GovernorFitzroy, in July, 1847, in which, while announcing the intentionof the Home Government to separate the Port Phillip District fromthe colony of New South Wales, he discussed at some length theleading principles upon which representative institutions shouldbe carried into effect. Very few of his conclusions—to someof which more detailed reference will be requiredhereafter—were acted upon, but there is one paragraph whichI think worth quotation, as the evils and complaints itdescribes, were very much like those with which, after aninterval of nearly thirty years, we are familiar at the presenttime.

"Local self-government" (says Earl Grey), "ifnecessary for the good of the whole colony, is not less necessaryfor the good of the several districts of which it is composed.For this reason it was that Parliament provided for the erectionthroughout New South Wales of municipal corporations, whichshould, in various respects, balance and keep in check the powersof the Legislative Council. By this method it was supposed thatthe more remote districts would be able to exercise their fairshare of power, and to enjoy their proper influence, in thegeneral policy of the whole province. But the result hasdisappointed this expectation. The municipalities have only anominal existence—the Legislative Council has absorbed allthe other powers of the colonial state. The principle ofself-government in the districts most remote from Sydney, istherefore acted upon almost as imperfectly as if the conduct oflocal affairs had remained under the same management andinstitutions as those which the existing system superseded.Members, it is true, are chosen to represent those districts inthe Legislature; but it is shown that such of the inhabitants ofPort Phillip as are really qualified for this trust, are unableto undertake it at the expense of abandoning their residences andtheir pursuits in the southern division of the colony. Thus thePort Philip representation has become an unreal and illusory, nota substantial, enjoyment of government." *

[* Earl Grey to Governor Fitzroy. Downing Street,July 21, 1847.]

It does not seem as if these observations, weighty andwell-founded as they were, sank to any depth in the minds ofcolonial statesmen at the time, or ever bore much fruitafterwards.

If we turn from public topics general to the colony to thosewhich specially concerned the district, we shall find somethingto interest us. In so small a community the local events wouldalmost, as a matter of course, be comparatively unimportant, but,nevertheless, not to be passed without notice. One of theprincipal wants—a bank—from time to time engagedattention. A regulation agreed to by the Sydney institutions,that they would honour no cheque payable otherwise than to"bearer," or for a less sum than £2, and suggesting that, toprevent loss, all cheques should be crossed through some bank,excited great wrath in the district, especially the restrictionto £2, which, it was alleged, would be productive of greatinconvenience to employers and small storekeepers. Some mouthsafterwards the limitation was lowered to £1. The absence of abank and the want of silver, led to the adoption of a system ofwhat were called "calabashes"—orders drawn upon some agentof the drawer, payable at various dates after presentation, andoften for very small amounts. If the drawer were a squatter ofanything approaching to established character, the order wouldremain in circulation for a long time; and I recollect that solate as 1860, I received in change at an hotel in Toowoomba anorder for thirteen shillings and sixpence, drawn upon a Sydneyfirm by a late Colonial Treasurer—which order was thenthree rears old, and in the multitude of its endorsements, lookedlike a collection of autographs, not of the most intelligiblekind. Considerable loss was sometimes sustained by the holders ofthese documents, who compensated themselves occasionally by highcharges for discounting them for the first possessors; and theestablishment of a branch bank was, from various motives,longingly looked for.

The want of one did not, however, abate the appetite or seemto cramp the means available of the residents for pleasure. Horseracing then, as now, was a leading amusement.; and in the firstnumber of theMoreton Bay Courier the leading descriptionis of the Moreton Bay annual races. Unfortunately, the accountdoes not specify the total values of the prizes run for; but forthe edification of the curious in such matters, I can give a listof the stakes at the Anniversary Meeting in May, 1847. The raceslasted three days. On the first day there were the Brisbane TownPlate of £25, entrance, £2 10s.; the Maiden Plate of £20,entrance, £2; and the Welter Stakes of £20, entrance, £2. Thesecond day offered a Hurdle Race for £20, entrance, £2; and aHack Hurdle Race of £15, entrance, £1 10s. The third day seems tohave been the busiest: there was the Publicans' Purse of £25,entrance, £2 10s.; the Ladies' Purse of £20, entrance, £2; theTally-ho Stakes of £20, entrance, £2; the Beaten Stakes of £10;and the Hack Race of £5, entrance, 10s. The little communitysqueezed out £180 for prizes, although theCouriercomplains that Ipswich and the back country had held aloof.*About six months after these races, a regatta was carried outwith great spirit, but although the Brisbane Race Committee havehad a plentiful series of successors throughout the colony,aquatic sport seems to have been rather intermittentlypursued.

[* In the evening the "boys" kept it up in NorthBrisbane in grand style, under the able leadership of a gentwell-known to the sporting fraternity. It so happened on thisparticular night that a hogshead of beer was quietly reposingunder the verandah of the Victoria Hotel, when it was observed bythe boys aforesaid. The word was passed, and the cask was set inmotion down Queen Street, as far as the corner of Albert Street.Finding the amusement highly exhilarating, our heroes commencedrolling it back again up the hill, and got it as far as the greenopposite the Post Office (nearly to George Street). Here acouncil of war was held, and it was decided to make a manfulattack upon the head, as being the most vulnerable part of thecask. This was soon accomplished, and a general invitation wasgiven to imbibe the contents, which was accepted by numbers whohad assembled to witness the fun. "Capital stuff, Ned, is itnot?" said one. "Old Tooth is a brick," said another; and allagreed that it was an excellent remedy for cold. Suffice it tosay, that nearly the whole was drunk by our Bacchanalian andtheir guests, without the slightest compunctious visitings or wryfaces.—Moreton Bay Courier, May 29, 1847.]

Business and pleasure were subjected to a sad interruption inMarch, 1847, by the wreck of theSovereign steamer, at theSouthern Passage to Moreton Bay, when on her voyage to Sydney. Incrossing the bar at that passage, her machinery, which appears tohave been originally unfit for the work required of it, brokedown, and the vessel drifted until it struck, breaking up, fromthe unsound condition of the timbers and planking, immediately ittouched the ground. Out of fifty-four persons on board, only tenwere saved; and of these, three were severely injured. Judging bythe contemporary accounts, it is difficult to say where mostblame was attached—to the culpable overloading of thesteamer, or to the carelessness, or something worse, of theHunter River Company in employing so crazy a vessel on such aservice. Protest seems to have been of little avail, as, on morethan one occasion subsequently, I find that overloading wascompelled to be thrown overboard from the company's steamers, tosave the vessels and the lives of the passengers. There were noPlimsolls in those days; but it resulted from the loss of theSovereign, that an agitation was set on foot for thesurvey of Moreton Bay, in order that a safer entrance might be,if possible, discovered. The New South Wales Government weredisinclined to defray the expense, or to undertake the work; but,as Captain Wickham was willing to superintend thesurvey,—they graciously permitted him to do what they weretoo parsimonious or too careless to attempt themselves.

In one thing the interest, or the patriotism, of New SouthWales, was industrious. There was no slackness, since the successof Leichhardt, in forwarding exploration, although sometimes thezeal displayed was more conspicuous than discretion. Leichhardthimself was restless and eager, after the novelty of his welcomehad worn off, to adventure once more into the unknown regions tothe westward, but now with the intention of crossing thecontinent from the Moreton Bay District to Swan River. He pursuedhis design with characteristic energy. On September 21, 1846, heattended a meeting at Sydney to receive a testimonial therepresented to him, and in less than a fortnight afterwards, washeard of as starting from Raymond Terrace in New South Wales, tojoin the other members of his company, who were to conic toMoreton Bay by sea, and meet him on the Darling Downs. His partyand equipment were mustered at Oakey Creek, on November 21. Heleft on December 2 for Jimbour (then spelt Jimba, which isprobably the correct orthography), which was to be his point ofdeparture. He took with him Mr. John Mann, Mr. Hovenden Hely, Mr.Bunce (a well-known botanist), Mr. Turnbull, and a saddler and atanner, and two aboriginals. His travelling stock were fourteenhorses, sixteen mules, 270 goats, 90 sheep, and 40 head ofcattle, as well as a moderate supply of stores. His intention wasto follow on his old tracks until he reached the Peak Downs, andthen to turn westward on his new exploration. Vague reports ofhis movements reached the settlement occasionally, but nothingdefinite was known until certain news came that he had returnedwith his party to the Condamine on July 31. From the narrativegiven in theCourier, I gather that all of the party, withthe exception of Leichhardt himself and his blacks, had beenattacked by fever at the Comet River, where they were detained byfloods. When these had gone down, he pushed on for the Mackenzie,which the party crossed, and camped on the north bank. Here theyturned their goats adrift, but persevered in reaching the PeakDowns, where they anticipated a bracing atmosphere and renewedhealth: but fresh misfortune befel them in the loss of most oftheir bullocks and a considerable number of their mules andhorses. Discouraged by these repeated disappointments, Leichhardtdetermined to return to the Condamine, and, with new associates,attempt to discover some more favourable route; so they turnedback, leaving behind a quantity of their stores, which might haveencumbered them, and, after a miserable journey, arrived at Mr.Bligh's station in a very pitiable condition.

Sir Thomas Mitchell, then Surveyor-General, had started inNovember, 1845, on an expedition for the purpose of ascertainingthe nature of the country to the west and north-west of MoretonBay, and, skirting the centre of Australia, of reaching PortEssington, which last attempt was, however, abandoned. In thecourse of his journey he discovered the country which he namedFitzroy Downs, and the Maranoa River. Further on he found thesources of the Warrego, and thereafter followed down the bed of ariver falling north-west, which he named the Victoria, andbelieved would find its estuary in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Inportions of his journey he crossed the route which had beenpreviously pursued by Leichhardt, although of course not aware ofthat at the time, and hence arose some confusion of names whichfor a time perplexed geographers. His descriptions were vivid,his language vigorous, his anticipations sanguine, especially asto the great river on which he lavished all his eloquence. But asubsequent exploration by Mr. Kennedy, who had been one of hisassistants, proved Sir Thomas to have been premature in hisconclusions. The Victoria was by no means a permanent stream,and, ultimately turning in a south-western direction, becamedissipated in a number of small channels, and was finally lost inthe sandy plains of the interior. Kennedy identified it with theCooper's Creek of Captain Sturt, which had been discovered bythat explorer in his South Australian Expedition. Sir Thomas'sglowing descriptions induced the late Mr. Charles Coxen,accompanied by Mr. Pinnock and a native black, to venture on anexplanatory tour to the Fitzroy Downs, which, however, theythought, did not justify Mitchell's eulogies, and theirsubsequent report seems to have deterred some who intended toform stations on that part of the country from making theattempt, at least, at that time.

But Sir Thomas Mitchell's narrative induced Leichhardt tostart after a day or two's rest, on an expedition to the FitzroyDowns to examine the nature of the country. It seems tolerablyclear that he did not then find them, although more than once onthe tracks of both Mitchell and Kennedy. He does not appear tohave thought very highly of the country for settlement; and,having returned to the Condamine, hastened to Sydney to renew hispreparations for a final start. Here, too, he met with arelative, a Mr. Classen, touching whose real fate there has beenmuch painful uncertainty. The two left Sydney on December 4;arrived at Rosenthal on the Darling Downs about February 1, 1848;and, on the 13th, were in Brisbane, completing their equipment.On the 16th, they left on their last journey. Leichhardt had withhim, besides Mr. Classen, a Mr. Entinck, formerly of the HunterRiver District; a man named Donald Stuart, who had been in theservice of the Messrs. Leslie at Canning Downs; another man namedKelly; and two aboriginals. The party had with them fifty fatbullocks, twenty mules and six horses, with what was described atthe time as a complete equipment. He proposed to follow a river,called, by Mitchell, the Cogoon, to the Victoria River, followingthat explorer's tracks as far as might be necessary to enable himto discover the course of the northern waters, and then bearingoff westerly for Swan River. The last heard from him was a letterto theSydney Morning Herald, dated April 4, 1848, andwritten at a sheep station not far from Mount Abundance. A day ortwo afterwards, he left Mount Abundance with his party—and,thenceforward, was no more seen of his fellows, and became amemory and a name.

Some comments were made after his departure on the change inhis associates, and Mr. Bunce vindicated himself as to hissecession in a letter of some bitterness, on the ground that itwas by Leichhardt's own wish that the connection was broken off.Mr. Classen, Leichhardt's relative, took Bunce's place; and,irrespective of what causes of dispute might have arisen in thefirst and abortive attempt. Leichhardt might have preferred asolitary friend, and beyond him only subordinates who were thatand nothing more, to associates of sufficient standing andposition to form and act upon their own opinions. Modest inbearing reputation, he seems to have been avaricious inengrossing it—a failing the more to be regretted in hiscase, because it is possible, that under different arrangements,his danger might have been lessened, and his fate more fortunate;but no one can deny his general disinterestedness, hisindefatigable energy, his indifference to privation, and his zealin the pursuit of that branch of knowledge of which he was sodevoted a follower, and in which his fame stands second tonone.

While Leichhardt was thus engaged in the task of scientificexploration, what may be called exploration for settlement, wasbeing vigorously pushed on. Mr. Burnett, an assistant surveyor inthe New South Wales survey department, left Brisbane for theDowns country, on March 1, 1841, with the intention of tracingthe waters of the Boyne River, to its supposed mouth in Hervey'sBay. In this, however, he was prevented by the difficultiesresulting from the nature of the country, and, after travellingas far as his means admitted, returned to Brisbane. He again leftthere on July 20, in his boat, with a crew of seven men, andreaching Hervey's Bay, proceeded up the "shallow inlets" ofFlinders', which he found to be the openings he was in search of.Journeying up the river, he at length connected it with the pointhe had reached by land, and having, satisfactorily ascertainedthis, he examined Wide Bay, and the river debouching into it. Ofthe Boyne, or of the country on its banks, he thought little, butthe Wide Bay River, as it was called, he considered the openingfor some future important settlement. On receipt of his report,the Governor directed that the name of the River Boyne should bechanged to the "Burnett," and of the Wide Bay River to the"Mary." Thus was the first step taken towards the location of thenow important town of Maryborough.

While the work of exploration was thus going on, new roads andnew settlements were following its tracks, and new stationsforming. In May, 1847, a new road over the Range, and south ofCunningham's Gap, was found and marked; and, farther north, aroad was traced from the head of the Mary River to a stationabout seventy miles farther inland. So far as their limitednumbers permitted, the settlers were assiduous in the discoveryand use of such facilities as by degrees opened upon them, andthe condition of the district seems to have been, if notviolently prosperous, at least progressive. Gradually it wasprovided with the usual means for the administration of the law.A Court of Petty Sessions was established at Brisbane, on March1, 1847, and another at Ipswich, on July 5. Messrs. M'Connell'sstation, at Cressbrook; Cambooya, on the Darling Downs; andCanning Downs (near Warwick) had been appointed places for thesame purpose, early in the year; but Cressbrook was soonabandoned. The Government of New South Wales dealt rather harshlywith the residents in closing the old hospital, but anarrangement was soon come to by which the public subscriptionswere to be supplemented by an annual grant from the revenue, andthe buildings, now swept away for the new Law Courts, weregranted as a hospital for the settlement. The provision of adecorous building for a church was also attended to, a visit fromthe Anglican Bishop of the diocese—then that of Newcastle,New South Wales—materially assisting in the work. The sitenow occupied by St. John's, Brisbane, was secured, and plansobtained by which what now partially forms the south side of thepresent building was afterwards erected. There was a slightagitation about the best locality for the permanent capital, someturning their faces towards Cleveland, some suggesting thepresent site of Maryborough; and there were the usual local andpetty jealousies inseparable from small communities. It wasseldom that any great crime startled them from the generallyquiet though somewhat jovial tenor of their way; and the conductof the people seems to have been at least as good as that oftheir elder neighbours. I should almost feel justified inconsidering it better, could I give the weight which may,nevertheless, be due to the testimony of Mr. Arthur Hodgson,then, as now, a large run-holder on the Darling Downs, in behalfof the settlers in the outlying districts, not usually consideredthe most straight-laced in their behaviour. When on a visit toEngland in 1848, he informed a meeting, held at the Shire Hall,Stafford, that—

"his experience led him to declare, that what wassaid respecting the vice and immorality which were represented astaking place there, was very incorrect. He assured them that heknew no well-conducted establishment where the master did notevery Sunday assemble together his servants and read prayers tothem, and also, in some instances, a sermon. This was done inevery well-regulated establishment in the colony; and besides,that he had frequently seen men congregated under a gum tree,listening to the words of everlasting life."

Mr. Hodgson spoke from personal observation, and I amtherefore compelled to believe that well-regulated establishmentsof the kind he described were not numerous, and that such gumtrees, like the poppies in the old song,were rare,*although he might frequently have seen the few that didexist.

[* Poppies like these. I own, are rare;
But nightingales' songs like his, beware.

{Page 89}

CHAPTER VI.

1848-1850.

Earl Grey's. Despatch on theProposed Constitution for New South Wales—The NewElections—Progress of the District—Troubles with theBlacks—Californian Gold Discovery—Dr. Lang and hisEmigration Plans—The "Fortitude," "Chasely," and"Lima"—Dr. Lang's Character as affecting hisSuccess—Paucity of other Immigration—Renewal ofModified Transportation and its Results—The Privy CouncilScheme for Australian Constitutions—The LocalTrade—Last Exploration and Death ofKennedy.

In tracing the history of thesuccessive efforts at shaping a new constitution for theAustralian Colonies, it is necessary to turn back to Earl Grey'sdespatch of July, 1847, which I have before mentioned. The schemeit embodied had at least the merit of consistency; and, as a meretheoretical effort, and considered without reference to thescanty and scattered population of the country and itsdissimilarity of character to that of the older communities forwhich the system was suggested might have been suitable, had muchto recommend it. His lordship proposed, in the first place, thatthe Legislatures should consist of two Chambers—oneelective, the other of nominees of the Crown. In the next place,he recommended the establishment of district Councils, observingthat "evils of a very serious kind result from committing theinclusive management of the affairs, both general and local, of awhole province to a central legislature, unaided and unbalancedby any description of local organization." And he then propoundsthe question, whether these councils might not "be made to bearto the House of Assembly—the relation of constituents andrepresentatives." Not the least important proposition, was thatof devising a method for "enabling the various Legislatures ofthe several Australian Colonies to co-operate with each other inthe enactment of such laws as may be necessary for regulating theinterests common to their possessions collectively," as, forinstance, customs duties, postal procedure, roads, railways, andanalogous matters.

It will be obvious that much of the value of the bicameralarrangement, and all of its acceptance with the people to begoverned, would depend upon the conditions attached to theexercise of the nominatory power on which the second chamber wasto be constituted; and as to these nothing was indicated. Again,it is by no means clear that such district councils as could havebeen obtained in New South Wales at that time, or could be now inAustralia, would afford constituent bodies in any wise morequalified to select representatives than the general electoratesin the ordinary manner. It is even very questionable whether thevery different character of the duties to be performed by the twobodies would not so dissimilarize the qualifications of themembers as to impair, if not prevent, that sort of transitionaland gradual exaltation, a notion of which seemed to be floatingin Earl Grey's mind. The worm—the grub—thebutterfly—are pretty as illustrations; but, in the workingof Governments, the supposedly analogous human subject does notalways occupy the analogous situation. As to the federalsuggestion made by his lordship, it is greatly to be regrettedthat his firmness in persevering in a provision for that was notequal to the foresight which dictated so wise a suggestion.

The reception with which the despatch met was by no meansencouraging. The proposal for district councils was encounteredby a storm of opposition from all parties. The country residentsobjected that they had not leisure to spend the time away fromtheir homes that would be required for conciliar duties, or meansto afford the expense of attendance. The members of theLegislature would have found their powers shorn in the most vitalpoint to them—their use in the gratification of localwishes" and the corresponding maintenance of political position.And these feelings soon found expression. The Legislative Councilof the colony met on March 21, when the Governor laid before thema despatch from Earl Grey, stating the terms on which the HomeGovernment would send out "exiles and ticket-of-leave holders, tobe subsequently followed by their wives and families, and by anumber of free immigrants equal to the number of such exiles andticket-of-leave holders at the expense of the BritishGovernment." The other despatch to which I have just referred,and which had been "published for general information," was alsocommended to their attention. On April 6, Mr. Wentworth moved theco-operation of the Council with the Home Government, in carryingout Earl Grey's emigration scheme, which was carried after a warmdebate. On May 9, the same gentleman moved a series ofresolutions condemnatory in almost violent terms of Earl Grey'sproposal as to the form of the new constitution, but did notsucceed in carrying them; the Council, on the suggestion of Mr.Charles Cowper—long a leading politician in New SouthWales—determining to frame resolutions for themselves. Whenthe time came for this, an animated discussion took place, whenat length Mr. Wentworth moved, that the further consideration ofthe matter be postponed to that day six months, which motion wascharacteristically enough carried, and, for the time, the subjectdropped.

There was, indeed, little opportunity for its renewal, exceptas a hustings topic. On June 21, the Council expired by effluxionof time, and the elections once more occupied the attention ofthe district. On that point all that need be said, is, that onMr. M'Leay's resignation, from continued ill health, ColonelSnodgrass and Mr. A. Boyd contested the seat. The total number ofelectors for the three counties (Gloucester, Stanley, andMacquarie) constituting the electorate, was 301, of whom Brisbanecontributed 83, and Ipswich 21. The local journal was complacenton the increased electoral importance of the district, which wasnot sufficient, however, to induce a visit from the candidates,of whom Colonel Snodgrass was elected on August 22.

The district itself continued to advance quietly but steadily,and, as a sign of the times, I may note, that at the commencementof 1848, theCourier had been enlarged to meet the publicand advertising requirements of the improved order of things. InJuly, of the same year, the proprietorship passed from Mr. Lyonto Mr. Swan, and thereupon a change in the politics of the paperbecame every day more marked. From a mild advocacy of the exiles,it gradually altered to a very warm opposition of theirintroduction, and thus kept pace with the growing changes aroundit. And the old Anglo-Saxon tendency to association began todisplay itself amongst the people. The first Oddfellows' lodgewas established in Brisbane on December 8, 1847, to be, in duetime, followed by a temperance society, inaugurated at a publicmeeting held in May, 1849. Ever and anon, too, the necessity fora bank crops up in the reports of the times. On July 8, 1848, theinhabitants of the settlement memorialised the directors of theUnion Bank of Australia, asking them to establish a branch inthis "rapidly increasing town and district." Their statements insupport possess an historic value in the history of thesettlement, and I, therefore, quote some of them. They affirmedthat the value of the exports for the year 1847, was £72,297, andthat for the current year, they estimated the amount at £100,000."The live stock on which our prosperity at present principallyrelies, consisted, on January 1, 1848, of 698,938 sheep, 48,267cattle, and 2,189 horses." It is worth noting, that they suggestthat the growth of cotton "would give an immense impetus totrade," in which, however, they were mistaken, and they werepathetic upon the distance all had to travel who had bankingbusiness to transact, and the inconvenience they sustained bytheir lengthened journey. But the memorialists addressed a boardwhich seems fully to have realised Lord Stowell's description ofsuch bodies—they never received the courtesy of anacknowledgment of their application. The want of roads andbridges seems to have excited a sort of spasmodic attempt atimprovement in the means of transit, for I find a transit companyannounced, and much interest evinced in some plans for theconstruction of cheap bridges, apparently on the latticeprinciple, which, however, resulted in nothing practical. Thescarcity of labour was also a sore trouble. Wages, indeed, seemto have been moderate, reckoning by present standards. Marriedcouples received £30 a year and double rations, single men £20and single rations; the wages of a domestic servant were £14 ayear; shearers fared better in the season, 2s. 9d. per score, or£3 3s. per week being the current quotation. The absolute absencerather than the price of labour seems to have been the greatcause of complaint; squatters, "magistrates withal," as thenotice of the occurrence complains, having occasionally to drivetheir own bullock-teams. It may easily be conceived, therefore,that the arrival of fifty-six Chinese immigrants did not muchmend the state of affairs; but that of theArtemesia, inDecember, 1848, with 210 male and female immigrants, gave theinhabitants some satisfaction. "The arrival of the firstimmigrant vessel direct from England, is an important event inthe annals of Moreton Bay," observes theCourier of thatdate; "an epoch to be often reverted to by the future historiansof the northern colony." I therefore note the fact with a goodgrace encouraged by such a prediction.

In other respects the colonists were tolerably active in theadvancement of the district. An application was made to thecentral government, that Brisbane might be declared a freewarehousing port, which received scant courtesy at the hands ofthe Colonial Secretary, and a peremptory refusal. Nothingdaunted, the petitioners went to the Home Government, and, as aresult, obtained a concession that the town should be made awarehousing, in distinction from a free warehousing, port. Theyfollowed this up by petitioning for the erection of a buildingfor a Custom House, and in this, after an acrimonious disputewith the local authorities as to the best site, they weresuccessful. The melancholy condition of the old Governmentgarden—described as fast sinking into dilapidation andruin—was a reflection upon the economy and taste of the NewSouth Wales authorities, who would neither preserve itthemselves—although the collection of plants is said tohave been valuable—nor allow anyone else to preserve it forthem. But the Roman Catholic body contributed a valuable additionto the attractions of the place in a church, small in dimensions,but marked by character and spirit of style, whose loss a laterstructure of infinitely more ambitious pretension will notprevent the architectural connoisseur from regretting. In theinterior the progress of building foreshadowed the townships ofDrayton and Warwick, and Mr. Bunce, making a successful journeyto the Fitzroy Downs, found them, in his opinion, to justify SirThomas Mitchell's description, and reported accordingly. But thelittle growing settlement had its discouragements. A heavy fallin the price of wool "created in the large pastoral districts adeath-like depression, and public opinion—flying, as usual,from one extreme to the other—already predicts theannihilation of the squatting interest." Over production wasassigned by some as the cause of the fall, but more accurateobservers traced it to the commercial depression in the oldworld, following upon the political disquietude of the times; andthe squatters and their supporters took courage—perhapsbecause it was useless doing otherwise. The blacks added to thevexation of their souls, almost every number of theCourier containing some account of predatory aboriginalattacks. These, as a matter of course, were met by suchretaliation as was possible. The whole squatting frontier becamea line of perpetual conflict, in which it is to be feared nosmall cruelty was exercised on both sides. Why the hostilefeelings, which found vent in such barbarities, should have beencaused, is a question involving no great profundity ofspeculation. There is a selfishness in civilization as insavagery; each grasping enough in its own development, andcertain to become bitter when the two are opposed—oppositeas are their special wants, natures, and perceptions. I know ofno better explanation of the foundation of such hostility thanwas given many years ago by a South Australian native, when askedwhy he killed the settlers' sheep—"White fellow kill blackfellows' kangaroo; all same black fellow kill white fellows'kangaroo." The justification to his mind at least wascomplete.

The social difficulties of the residents were not altogetherconfined to the troubles arising from the natives. They had someexperience of the conduct of the "exiles," who were the objectsof Earl Grey's commiseratory sympathy, and thoroughly apprehendedwhat might be the consequences of that increased immigration withwhich they were threatened, They therefore petitioned for thereturn of military protection, in which they were successful. OnNovember 13, a detachment of the 11th regiment arrived, and tookup their quarters in the old barracks, much to the content of thepeople. The next object of their request, was the appointment ofa resident judge, or at least the establishment of a circuit ofthe Supreme Court. For this, however, they had yet to wait, andto endure the miscarriage or prevention of justice, which thereference to Sydney of all cases for trial could not but involve.In one respect they were not forgotten—a remembrance which,I suspect, the realisation of revenue had as much to do with asany higher motive. The extension of squatting occupancy renderedthe subdivision of old, and the proclamation of new, pastoraldistricts necessary; and in November, 1848, those of Moreton,Darling Downs, Gwydir, Wide Bay, Burnett, and Maranoa, wereproclaimed accordingly; the late President of our QueenslandLegislative Council, Sir M. C. O'Connell, being appointedcommissioner for the Burnett District. The probability of atownship at Maryborough was spoken of, although influenced, it issaid, by evil reports, there was a disinclination on the part ofnew arrivals to take employment in the district, with which,moreover, communication seems to have been of a very irregularkind. Early in the following year, a post office was establishedat the locality of the proposed town, the mails being carried bysailing vessel as opportunity offered.

The first number of theCourier in the year 1849,startled the quietude of what seemed to be sinking into a sort ofsleepy-hollow, with the news of the Californian gold discoveries.They were received, at first, with a quiescent incredulity,which, by and by, changed into an active desire, on the part ofsome of the more adventurous spirits, to try their chance in thevarying fortunes of a miner's life; but although, from time totime, the residents were amused or excited by the continuousreports of increasing yields, I find the influence exerted uponthe district was comparatively small.

What was of far greater moment to the people of Moreton Bay,was the commencement and partial success of a scheme forcomprehensive and systematic immigration, of which the late Rev.John Dunmore Lang was the author. That exceedingly energetic manhad long before this time exerted himself very efficiently in thepromotion of free, as distinguished from convict, colonization;and, in pursuing that course, had brought himself intoill-favour, not only with a large class in the colony whosefeelings and prejudices were offended by hostility always openand exasperating, but with the Colonial Office in England, andwith the New South Wales officials, who, with mare or lessfeebleness, reflected the opinions and endeavoured to serve thewishes of their employers. He had, to a great extent, identifiedhimself with the public and social progress of the colony, and Iremember very well the influence his "History of New South Wales"* exercised on its first publication on the commercial andemigrating public in the old country at a time when a great dealhad been written upon, and something done in the way ofcolonization, and the merits of rival systems were discussed,sometimes with more temper than philosophy. I do not think it toomuch to say, speaking from my own recollection, that theexertions of Dr. Lang, at that time, in great measure,popularised the Eastern colonies of Australia with the Britishpublic. It sometimes belongs to men of great energy to misdirectit—of great determination of purpose to mistake the motivesand underrate the integrity of their opponents. And the greatertheir appreciation of their object, the more impatient will theybe of opposition, and intolerant of those by whom they areopposed. Any man of such qualities living and acting in the earlytimes of these colonies, would, no doubt, find full exercise fortheir most extreme development. And I am not at all surprised,that in the eyes of those who profited, or wished to profit, bysuch a state of things as seems to have existed during many yearsprior to the separation of Port Phillip from New South Wales, Dr.Lang was a very unpopular man.

[* First edition published in 1839.]

And there were other antagonistic influences exerted by Dr.Lang's public career. He had visited this district in 1845, andhad then formed a high opinion of its capabilities—so highas to induce him to consider that it would soon be as desirableto separate it from the parent colony as the district of PortPhillip; and he threw himself with characteristic energy into theadvocacy of separation for both. This did not increase hispopularity with the leading residents of New South Wales, but, onthe contrary, added new intensity to their dislike. It appears tome, that he practically undervalued the effect all this mighthave upon his emigration schemes, and thus became involved inresponsibilities, and exposed to insinuations, against which amore accurate estimate of the forces he had to contend with, anda consequently more cautious procedure on his own part, mighthave protected him; a judgment, however, which those whobenefited in no small degree by an opposite line of conduct, canhave no right to pronounce. But what was more unfortunate still,was the absolute intolerance and injustice which he at all timesdisplayed, not only towards all ecclesiastical systems whichdiffered from what might be his ideal at the time, but towardsevery person who could be supposed to be identified with them, orwho refused to admit the value of his own. He did not scruple todenounce, with all the vigour of an infallible controversialist,Roman Catholicism as "the Beast" of prophecy, and what would nowbe regarded as a moderate high churchman, as "the image of theBeast;" the Wesleyan as lukewarm; and, almost as vigorously, themembers of the elder Presbyterian body to which he once belonged,as "Erastians." And he carried into these disputes, and, in hislater years, into too many of his political contests, an amountof personal vituperation, of insinuation as to motive, andsuspicion as to dealing, which are hardly to be accounted for onany possible hypothesis; except, that in all his plans he couldbear,

Like the Grand Turk, no rivalnear his throne.

Public men of integrity of purpose, equal to any that he couldclaim for himself, found themselves assailed with all the weaponsemployed against the most abandoned "emancipist" of ancienttimes, and with equal bitterness, until at last it almost seemedthat an Anglican Bishop and a convict editor stood on the samelevel in his estimation. Unhappily, this grew upon him withtime—as, when we compare his latest published works withthe first history to which I have alluded, becomes painfullyapparent. Undoubtedly, his influence on colonial progress wasgreat—his exertions, such as no man without great force ofcharacter and strength of constitution, could have been equal to;but the effect would have been far greater had he admitted therights of others to form and act upon their opinions, and notalways declined any estimate but his own.

Different systems of emigration had been tried previously tothis experiment. For a time the New South Wales Governmentadopted one of bounties—so much per adult for theimmigrants imported—a plan which naturally led to greatabuses in the efforts of holders of bountyorders—i.e., orders for the introduction of a givennumber of immigrants—to sell them to advantage, and ofshippers, to recoup themselves by abridging as far as they could,the convenience and comfort of their passengers. Then theproceeds of the land sales were applied, sometimes directly, andsometimes in anticipation, by way of mortgage raised on thesecurity of the land fund, for the payment of passages. And, inaid of either, the home Government occasionally paid the cost ofchartering vessels and of provisions and other necessaryequipment from the English Treasury. In addition to this,intending purchasers of colonial land acquired by a deposit oftheir money with the home authorities, a right to nominateemigrants for free passages in the Government vessels, at therate of one adult or two children for every £20 so deposited. Butin every case the approval of the emigrants and of thearrangements connected with their voyage, was subject to thecontrol of a board, called the Land and Emigration Commissioners,sitting in London, whose notions of the actual wants and wishesof the colonists seem to have been not infrequently of a vagueand shadowy nature.

At this time various efforts had been made to test thesuitability of the soil and climate of Moreton Bay to the growthof cotton. Small samples submitted to Manchester manufacturershad obtained their approval, and it seemed probable, that couldthe plant he cultivated economically and profitably, there was anopening for a large trade, and for the settlement of aconsiderable and prosperous population. Dr. Lang was persuaded,or persuaded himself, that it could, and his enthusiasm was tiredby the prospect. He thought that he saw the starving poor andanxious middle classes of the old country brought intoremunerative competition with the slave holding cotton growers ofthe Southern United States, and a doubly philanthropic purposecarried out, not only without drawing upon, but in reality to thegreat assistance of, British commercial and manufacturingindustry. We may assume that he was in error, but at that time,and afterwards, until experience supplied a refutation, the greatmajority of our people were of the like opinion. Estimatesshowing a more than average profit were given to him, andwell-informed men of sanguine temperament vouched theircorrectness. To create a new industry, to form a new colony, todeal to slavery no slight blow, and to relieve hisfellow-countrymen from poverty and suffering, were, singly,objects worthy of all the energy that could be thrown into thesupport of their combination, and assuredly, in the doctor'scase, that energy was in nowise spared.

Dr. Lang, after his visit to the district in 1845, left NewSouth Wales for England in the following year, and arrived therein December, when he immediately commenced what may be termed anemigration crusade; lecturing, writing in the public journals,corresponding and employing all the means that an enthusiastwould be most likely to adopt in furtherance of his objects.After some time thus occupied, he attempted the formation of acompany, called the "Cooksland Colonization Company," * and whileengaged in that, applied to the Colonial Office for free passagesfor one hundred emigrants, to be selected by himself at Glasgow,and to be employed in the cultivation of cotton in Moreton Bay.On November 2, 1847, a reply to the application was given, to theeffect, that—

[* Dr. Lang had previously published a volume,entitled "Cooksland," descriptive Of the district.]

"if an association shall be actually formed fortrying the cultivation of cotton, and should agree to purchaseland belonging to the Crown on such terms as would be compatiblewith the existing law on the subject, there would be everydisposition on the part of Her Majesty's Government to meet theassociation in the selection and despatch of emigrants to thatland, but that Earl Grey could not begin by promising to send outthe people, leaving it to be afterwards settled whether the bodyupon whom they were to be dependent, would be organised and wouldacquire the land upon which they were to beemployed."

He lost no time in answering this by a long letter, datedthree days afterwards, in which he asked that the proposedassociation should be entitled to lease land, with liberty toselect and purchase at the upset price, such as might be foundmost suitable for their purposes; the cost of carrying out theexperiment, as well as the purchase money of the land bought,being allowed by the Government to go against the passages of theimmigrants. To this proposal a flat negative was given by Mr.Hawes, the Under-Secretary for the Colonies. He persevered,however, in his efforts for the formation of a company, and foran arrangement with the Government, finding, as I infer, from adiligent perusal of the papers before me, great difficulty inproviding such a return as would give a commercial profit toshareholders, and yet keep within the limits imposed by theimperial and Local Acts and Regulations touching the sale ofCrown lands, and the selection and passage of emigrants. Hisfirst efforts at the formation of a company, met with manyobstructions, and wore finally abortive, in the face of thedifficulty I have referred to; but he nevertheless persevered,and chartered theFortitude, ship, for the conveyance ofpassengers to Moreton Bay, committing most of the businessarrangements to Mr. Arnold, a well-known and respectable Londonship broker. In his own letters, and in his evidence before aSelect Committee of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, in 1860,he states that, prior to the departure of the vessel, inSeptember, 1846, he had a personal interview with Mr. Hawes, thenUnder-Secretary for the Colonies, and received from thatgentleman, if not an assurance, at least what amounted to almostas much, that the local government would allow to immigrants sentout by him a quantity of land equal, in proportion, to that madein the case of those sent out by purchasers under the Land andEmigration Commissioners. Mr. Hawes did not, when called upon,recollect any conversation of the kind. These facts, however, arecertain: Dr. Lang undertook the personal responsibility ofsending out the emigrants, and was a heavy loser by thetransaction; and he gave to them land orders at the rate of £16for every £20 received from them, which orders he had no officialauthority—no authority that he could make legallyavailable—to give. But I am unable to come to any otherconclusion, than that he fully believed those orders would beduly honoured by the local government, unless I assume him to besomething akin to an idiot; for it is in the evidence of some ofthe most respectable of the passengers themselves that in not afew cases only a portion—sometimes half, or not somuch—of the passage-money was paid to him or to his agent.He himself asserts that his loss by theFortitude was£1,300, most of which he had paid in London before his return. Itis admitted now, on all sides, that he took great pains topromote both the physical and moral welfare of the emigrantswhile on board. One witness, before the committee I havementioned, declared the accommodation in theFortitude tohave been quite equal to that given to what were termedintermediate passengers, the ordinary charge to whom at the timewas £35; and I am unable to find any trace of complaint touchingthe vessel, or the provisions, or any other matter incidental tothe voyage, Nor is there, in the local records of those days,anything that can be construed into a charge of wilful deceptionmade by a single person who came out by the first vessel.

But when theFortitude arrived in Moreton Bay, onJanuary 20, 1849, the people on board found that no localpreparation had been made to receive them, and that the gentlemanto whom the vessel had been sent, repudiated the agency. Thelocal authorities had received no warning, and the localnewspaper complained that no previous notification of the precisenature of Dr. Lang's plans had been forwarded, or of the timewhen the first arrivals might be expected, and that he hadcommitted the local charge of the whole matter "to a gentlemanwhom he had never consulted on the subject, who had neverreceived, we believe, a line from the doctor since he left thecolony;" and it trusted that he would be able to exoneratehimself from the charge of indiscretion which it considered,under the circumstances, attached to him. The local authoritiesacted with promptitude and consideration, in which they were wellseconded by the residents. On examination by the health officer,it was found that two cases of fever had occurred within onemonth of the arrival of the vessel, and she was placed inquarantine. The sickness could not have been formidable, for, ina week the removal of the passengers to Brisbane was ordered bythe Police Magistrate. It does not appear, that on their arrival,they suffered any unexpected inconvenience. "We gather from thestatements made, that no expectations were raised of an immediatepossession of land, and that the passengers were fully aware thatthey must shift for themselves for the present." I quote from theMoreton Bay Courier of February 19, 1849, from which Ialso gather that the character and conduct of the immigrants andtheir value to the district were fully appreciated by theresidents, who were not slow to express their satisfaction; whilethe immigrants, in their turn, seemed quite content with theprospects before them.

Dr. Lang had sent out by the vessel a statement of claims onbehalf of the immigrants, and on his own account, which wasforwarded to Sydney, and in the meantime, the new settlers wereprovided with accommodation in various ways. In a very short timealmost all were engaged in business or in service, a fewremaining to see when the promised land would be allotted tothem, and they might commence their proposed agriculturalpursuits. But in this their expectations were vain. The New SouthWales Government gave prompt orders for the removal of such ofthem as remained on the Crown lands they had been permitted tooccupy, and the right to obtain land at all was peremptorilyrepudiated. In fact, the immigrants were most unjustly made tofeel the consequences of the almost vindictive animosity whichDr. Lang had excited in the minds of Earl Grey and the thenGovernor, Sir Charles Fitzroy; and I regret to be compelled tosay, that the official correspondence connected with thisimmigration scheme, was not in any way creditable to the writers.For instance, in his statement of the circumstances attendantupon the arrival of theFortitude, Sir Charles brought outthe fact, that the vessel had been placed in quarantine; but hedid not say, that within one week from the time this was done,the passengers were declared fit to be removed to Brisbane. EarlGrey caught with alacrity at the insinuated mischief, and,answering Sir Charles's letter, observes, "that they (theimmigrants) arrivedwith fever prevailing in their ships, andthat there had been several deaths an board. I cannot butfear," he sympathetically adds, "that this has arisen from theimperfect arrangements which had been made for the health andcomfort of the passengers, as such an occurrence is soexceedingly rare in Australian emigration when properly conductedunder the superintendence of the commissioners." The total numberof deaths on board theFortitude in a voyage of 123 days,were eight out of two hundred and fifty-six—three adultsand five children, and only a single death from fever is statedto have occurred in the bay. It proved an odd commentary on theEarl's eulogium on the commissioners, that in theCourierof August 10, 1850, in which his despatch was published, thearrival of the first emigrant vessel, afterwards sent under theirauspices to the district, was announced with thisaddendum:—"We believe that there were seventeen deaths onthe passage from typhus fever; that fifteen of the immigrantswere reported sick; and that a death occurred yesterday."Fourteen days afterwards, the vessel having been placed inquarantine, the surgeon's report was:—Sick, 56;convalescent, 63; and, ultimately, the number of deaths reached10. I find no trace of official sympathy for the sufferers onthis occasion; and not a word of rebuke to the commissioners ortheir agents. Earl Grey's animus towards the doctor was somewhatunworthily exhibited by what was practically a recommendation toSir Charles, to encourage any disappointed immigrant to commencea criminal prosecution against him.

Scarcely had theFortitude emigrants got settled intheir places when theChasely, bringing, in all, 225passengers, arrived in the bay. The same negligence had beenshown, and the same taking for granted that what was necessarywould be done without preparation, just as if every possibleprecaution had been taken to secure it—as had characterisedthe want of arrangement in the case of theFortitude. Thepassengers, therefore, had to pay for their own conveyance fromthe bay to Brisbane. The Government gave them no welcome beyond atemporary accommodation in the empty barracks, and what else theyrequired they had to find for themselves; but no sicknessoccurred on this occasion to excite the humane suspicions ofeither Colonial or Imperial officials. The doctor forwarded acharacteristic letter with theChasely, addressed throughtheCourier to the inhabitants of Moreton Bay. Revertingto theFortitude immigrants, he expresses misgivings as totheir obtaining their lands, but as to those by theChasely, he explicitly states:—

"I have succeeded, however, in making such anarrangement with the authorities here as will leave nouncertainty in regard to the acquisition of land for theimmigrants per theChasely, as was unavoidable iii thecase of theFortitude. We have already deposited a certainamount in the Bank of England to the credit of the Commissionersof Land and Emigration for the purchase of land in the colony forthose emigrants; and we expect to deposit so much more as will benecessary when the decision of the Commissioners upon theemigrants by that vessel generally will be given. They were onlyexamined this day (December 22) by Lieutenant Lean, on account ofthe Commissioners; and the result of that examination will beknown in a few days. It will be transmitted by the mail packet tothe local government at Sydney, and the matter will only besubject to the delays arising from the official routine in regardto land."

Lieutenant Lean expressed himself on board as highly satisfiedwith all he saw; and, on turning to the Commissioner's memorandumto Earl Grey, of November 30, 1849, I find that £500 wasdeposited on account of theChasely with them. TheChasely left the Downs on December 27, 1848; and, as itwas not till June, 1849, that they informed Dr. Lang that theywould in future pass no emigrants for whom the deposit had notbeen previously paid, I infer that in the case of that vesselthis prudent condition had not been enforced. It would follow,then, that the non-completion of the deposit was the cause of thenon-availability of the promised land.

An explanation of this, satisfactory or not, may be suppliedfrom the obstacles found in the way of establishing the proposedCooksland Colonization Company. As far as I can gather from thepublished correspondence, that company was left by Dr. Lang, asstated by him, on some disagreement as to the locality of themanagement, and the exact status of the emigrants; butundoubtedly the disputes with the Colonial Office were notwithout effect. Another company was then initiated by him, ofwhich the prospectus is before me, to be called the Port Phillipand Clarence River Colonization Company, and he signs the letterI have quoted from as secretarypro tem. to it. But I amunable to trace it any farther than a prospectus. No money seemsto have been received on account of shares, and no payments madeon account of the company. Actually, the whole arrangements seemto have been directed by Dr. Lang. His motive for associating thedistrict of Port Phillip with his enterprise, I can readilyunderstand; that was a portion of Australia then popular inEngland, and the climate believed to be pleasant and healthy,whereas Moreton Bay was generally looked upon as an almosttropical country, not easily endurable from its heat, while itsconnection with the "exile" question, prejudiced it with thegeneral public. To unite the two in one enterprise, would, ofcourse, benefit that which was least known; but the reason foradopting the Clarence River as the conjunctive name, is not soeasily perceived. Be this as it may, I have no doubt that, withhis sanguine temperament, Dr. Lang assumed the company as certainto be formed when he had drawn the prospectus, and the resultwas, that he had to bear all the consequences that followed fromacting on such an assumption. TheChasely immigrants atall events got no land. Of the appropriation of the depositacknowledged by the Commissioners. I am not aware.

A curious proof of the sanguine and impetuous nature of theman, will be found in connection with theChasely. A Mr.Bowden, who had been a long time engaged in the management ofsugar estates in Jamaica. A believed the cultivation of the caneto be practicable here. He agreed with the doctor to come to thedistrict in that vessel with the purpose of forming a company forthe growth of sugar, but being of limited means, Dr. Langguaranteed a promissory note he gave in payment for the passageof himself and his family. In the letter forwarded by the Chasay, the doctor warmly urged upon the residents in Moreton Baythe formation of a company, with a capital of £10,000, in athousand shares of £10 each, to carry on the project. Hesuggested that Mr. Bowden's expenses should be paid out of thefirst deposits, and that a call of £1 per share would besufficient for preliminary operations. He deprecated anyapplication for capital to New South Wales, and dilated upon theimportance of purely local control, and waved before the eyes ofthe prosaic workers in the little settlement the glory ofstriking a blow at the slave-holders of Brazil and the UnitedStates, by the establishment of the sugar industry in MoretonBey. The history of the attempt to form a company which followed,will be given in its proper place. What is more pertinent to mypresent purpose, is, that the doctor's responsibility seems tohave been enforced, while the planters of Australia remained yetin the imaginative future, on which he loved to dwell.

Carrying on the history of this scheme, I next come to thearrival of the Lima, on November 3, 1849, bringing eighty-fourpassengers. In the letters which accompanied her, Dr. Lang didnot allude to either land orders or emigration companies, but thepassengers brought out with them orders to the value of about£900, which were, with but a trifling exception, honoured. Therewas some imputation made against him from transactions connectedwith the payment for the vessel, in which these orders were usedfor a time, but, as it appears to me, with but a very shadowyfoundation. With the Lima, the introduction of immigrants on theproposed system, terminated here, and Dr. Lang found, inavocations involving less personal risk and pecuniaryresponsibility, full employment for the energy of which he had sosuperabundant a share.

His conduct in his colonization schemes, has been attacked anddefended with extraordinary virulence. A portion of theLegislative Council of New South Wales censured him in strongterms; but, considering the party asperities of that day, and thenature of the majority against him, I attach little value totheir condemnation. The constituency of Sydney were as warm intheir eulogy; and, for similar reasons, I am inclined to giveonly its due weight to that. Earl Grey and others in his train,accused him of a greed of personal gain, and of a desire toaggrandise his friends by the proposed enterprise, but we musttake the facts as we find them. Had every emigrant paid theintended company in full, if all the vessels employed had been aswell fitted and found as theFortitude andChasely,competent judges have deliberately affirmed, that the marginwould have been very small. In the draft charter, which was drawnup and submitted to the Board of Trade, the dividend wasrestricted to ten per cent., a return which, looking at the rateof colonial interest, and of dividends of colonial institutions,must be pronounced moderate. His friends, therefore, were not tobe enriched. But as an individual, in the management of hisimmigration, he seems to have thrown profit and prudence alike tothe winds. TheCourier of the day, gave as a fact, derivedfrom information supplied by theFortitude immigrantsthemselves, that more than £2,000 had been paid by them to him,and, considering the source, we may suppose the amount was notunderstated. Equal to two hundred and two adults came out in her,and at the lowest calculation I do not think £15 per head couldbe below the cost. If the doctor received about £2,000, he wouldhave been a heavy loser by that transaction, a loss that would beincreased by his giving credit for portions of passage money toimpecunious passengers. I see nothing extraordinary, under suchcircumstances, in his sinking £1,300 on theFortitudealone, or losing £3,000 or £4,000 in the six ships sent by him tothis district and to Port Phillip. It is not denied that all hisobligations in England arising from the expenses incurred withthem were discharged, nor that some who anticipated witheagerness a different conclusion, were not a little astonished atsuch a result.

On the precise nature of the understanding between Dr. Langand the emigrants, as to the land orders, or their mutualmisapprehensions, I presume not to judge. Both sides have madetheir own statement. Dr. Lang, in a letter in the MelbourneArgus, of May 14, affirms substantially that they had fullvalue for their money in their passages, the land orders being aguarantee that they should receive certain portions of land inaddition; and that they were told and knew that, although theymight be put in occupation of the land, no deeds would be granteduntil the proposed company was fully formed, and a uniform systemof allotment established. That no land at all was obtained forsome of them, he blames the Colonial Office for. The immigrants,on the other hand, declared that they paid this money for thepurchase of land, and received a "right to nominate for freepassages themselves and families, or other eligible persons, inthe proportion of one adult for every pound expended." * Howeverthis might be, as to those who paid in full, it could hardlyapply to those who paid half, or less, or to those, who, with awise precaution, did, in their own language, "advance depositssufficient to cover the cost of their respective passages out;the remainder being stipulated to be paid on receiving the landfor which they held an order." ** The reader, however, has bothsides of the question. And there is one remarkable fact, with theparties principally concerned—with the great majority ofthe immigrants assumed to have been defrauded—Dr. Langundoubtedly maintained a good opinion and friendly relations.

[* Resolutions at meeting held at Ipswich, June4, 1849.]

[** Ibid.]

The conduct of the Colonial Office is another matter. If itsauthorities determined to adhere to their routine under anycircumstances, they were right in abiding by their decision; butthe wisdom of the decision itself may well be open to question.The austere autocracy which could listen to nothing that involveda chance of profit to associations engaged in an enterprisethat—as experience of what was substantially the samesystem has abundantly proved—must even, without thesuccessful cultivation of cotton, have materially assisted thesettlement and industry of the colonies, and with them the tradeof the mother country, melted into a gushing compassion when itproposed to give to probationary "exiles" a three years' lease ofland rent free, and, at the termination of that, a pre-emptiveright of purchase at the upset price. Dr. Lang asked forrespectable industrious associations one year's lease, to enablethem to select and settle their people, and was, in effect, told,by the peremptory refusal he met with, that in the eyes of theColonial Office of that day, the promotion of free industry wasof infinitely less importance than the reward of a probation forwhich an opportunity had been made by previous crime.

If, in thus entering at length into the particulars of animmigration which exerted a very marked influence upon thecharacter and course of the district, and of Dr. Lang'sconnection with it, I appear to the reader to have dwelt toominutely or too long upon the various points, I have only to say,that in the space occupied is condensed the pith of a mostvoluminous correspondence, of many debates, of reports,resolutions, pamphlets, leading articles, and every form ofcontroversy, extending over more than twelve years. And it wasdue to the memory of the eminent man, now no more, whosecharacter has been impugned, but whose services to the colony ofQueensland cannot be denied—if the value of independentgovernment, free from the convict taint which beset the parentcolony, be admitted—and were formally recognised by itsfirst, and to him, undoubtedly hostile Parliament—that hisconduct should be placed in as clear a light as it was in mypower to throw upon it. Not less was it due to the large body ofour population who are connected directly or indirectly, with theimmigrants he was the means of introducing, whose beneficialinfluence, at a critical time, upon the moral and social futureof the colony, is beyond dispute. I am neither his defender norhis apologist—dissent very strongly from many of hisexpressed opinions; have no sympathy with his prejudices,religious or political—and in his life time had but theslightest possible communication with him: and in the course ofthis inquiry, have been guided by published documentaryevidence—admitted by all parties—bearing upon thecase, and by that alone. If there had been one reason wanting toinduce me to enter upon it, I should have found it in the fact,that at last his great age, not only left the services of hisvigorous manhood behind the recollection of the great majority ofthose who are now engaged in the ever changing hurry of coloniallife, but enfeebled his own perceptions of self-respect, andcalled for an indulgence—not always extended tohim—which the best of us may well pray may never berequired for ourselves. Few who saw him only in the late years ofhis life, would have imagined him the competitor of Donaldson, ofManning, of the towering and vehement Wentworth, of the acute andbrilliant Lowe. When we remember what he effected, and what heunderwent, something may be conceded even byenmity—something forgiven for what appears the pertinacityof an expiring egotism. Is it wonderful, that when wepersistently discharge our memories of the past services ofpublic men, they do now and then remember them: if the remindersounds like a reproach, whose fault is it but our own?

Whatever may have been the defects of Dr. Lang's emigrationschemes, little vas done to supplement his efforts or remedytheir defects. The total number of immigrants sent out by theCommissioners, and landed in Brisbane, during the year 1849, was104. In addition to these, 43 orphan girls, who formed part of anumber shipped to Australia by a philanthropic committee, andmostly, I believe, from Ireland, were forwarded from Sydney. Tocounterbalance these, 306 prisoners were sent to complete theirterm of punishment, or, as Lord Grey expressed it, ofprobationary reform. It is not surprising that the free residentsbegan to agitate for the total cessation of transportation, eventhough, at the close of the year, I find very bitter discontentexpressed at the scarcity of labour, and the consequent hindranceto the industries of the district. That discontent was aggravatedby the conduct of the Sydney Government in doling out a miserableand fractional portion of the Large immigration to New SouthWales since its resumption in 1848. From that time to the middleof May, fifty-four ships, bringing out 13,601 souls, had arrived,and of the whole number this district appears to have receivedonly about 400.

That Earl Grey was resolutely bent on the continuance ofEastern Australia as a reformatory colony in some shape or other,I gather from his despatch of September 8, 1848—publishedhere in March, 1849—in which he informed Sir CharlesFitzroy that the Order in Council, by which New South Wales wasmade no longer a place for receiving convicts under sentence fortransportation, would be revoked. As, he wrote, it seemedimprobable that funds would be available from the BritishTreasury for the conveyance of a number of free immigrants, equalto that of the male convicts, he requested the concurrence of thecolonists to the permanent establishment of the proposed system,irrespective of free immigration; believing that they "wouldprefer, to the entire abandonment of the measure proposed,receiving a moderate number of convicts;" that there would be "nodifficulty in disposing of all the convicts, for whom it isnecessary to provide;" and that it would be of so "much advantageto the several British colonies, where there is a great demandfor labour, as to induce them gladly to receive all the convictsthat can be sent to them." Having wrought up his convictions tothat pitch, he concluded the despatch by saying, that he shouldimmediately commence carrying out his plan, and continue to do sountil he received an answer; if that were unfavourable, he shouldfall back upon the system of equal immigration. The delusionunder which he seems to have laboured, as to the real feeling ofthe colonists, must have been soon dispelled. The inhabitants ofPort Phillip became so violent in their opposition, that theGovernor was induced to promise, that all prison ships sentthere, should be ordered on to Sydney, at which the wrath of theSydney population blazed vehemently out. They were not soothed bySir Charles Fitzroy's assurance, that should the LegislativeCouncil decline to concur with Earl Grey in the matter, the newscheme would be abandoned. A meeting of upwards of 4,000 personswas held in Sydney, when a strong protest against the renewal oftransportation, supported by Mr. Robert Lowe, was carriedunanimously, as well as resolutions requesting that the firstconvict ship—theHashemy, just arrived—shouldbe at once sent back to London at the Home Government'sexpense.

The protest in due time bore fruit—the resolutionsfloated away. The cargo of theHashemy was discharged, andfifty-four of her convict passengers were sent to Moreton Bay,where their arrival was acknowledged by a petition to the Queenfor the abolition of transportation. A sort of grim merriment wascaused by the mixture of economy and discipline exhibited byanother despatch from the Secretary of State, in which it wasordered that none of the ticket-of-leave holders should receive aconditional pardon, however apparently exemplary might be theirlives, unless they re-paid the cost of their involuntary passage,fixed at £20. And when, on November 1, theMount StuartElphinstone arrived with 225 male supposed candidates fortheir purchased pardons, there was fresh food for cynicismfurnished by a new regulation, that employers desirous to gettheir services, should engage them on board, whereby theGovernment saved the cost of passage from the bay, and of housingand feeding them the day longer, which, placing them in barracks,would have involved. Immediately upon the ship's arrival beingnotified, a notice was published, calling a meeting of theresidents to consider "the best means of receiving exiles." andto petition the Government to send out a "fair proportion of freeimmigrants;" but under this appeared another advertisement,entreating the attendance of the inhabitants, that a fullexpression of public opinion on the whole subject might beobtained. A meeting was accordingly held in Brisbane on November13, when a resolution was proposed, preferring a request to theHome Government for adequate military and police protection, asthe district was to become a convict colony, and for the "fair"proportion of free immigrants to be sent as well. On this, anamendment was moved, embodying a protest against the renewal oftransportation in any form, and carried with scarcely anydissent. The majority at once prepared for a larger and moreauthoritative meeting, which was held four daysafterwards—when resolutions were unanimously carriedobjecting to transportation in any form; protesting against theunnecessary delays to which immigrants were subjected in theacquisition of land, and against any scheme which might tend todiscourage the immigration of capital and labour. A memorial, inan argumentative form, embodying the resolutions, and, invigorous language, depicting the unvarying evil conduct of therecently-arrived convicts, was adopted on the motion of Mr.Robert Little, a well-known colonist of moderate views (who hasbeen Crown Solicitor to this colony ever since it became one),and directed to be forwarded to the Home Government. The close ofthe year brought with it an intended consolatory despatch fromEarl Grey, to the effect that, in future, it was the intention ofHer Majesty's Government to send out a number of free immigrantsequal to that of the male convicts shipped to thecolony—but the residents manifested little joy on thisassurance, qualified as it was by a notification, that the wivesand families of the convicts would be counted as part of the freeemigration. The pro-transportation party, however, mustered atIpswich, as a meeting of squatters and other employers oflabour—but resolutions submitted in favour of convictimmigration were decidedly rejected. Some of the leadingproprietors of stations on the Darling Downs, however,volunteered a solitary drop of comfort to the Minister, andmemorialised him for the importation of "exiles," assuring himthat from 1,000 to 1,500 could be absorbed; "and by none morereadily" than the memorialists, said to be employers of more than500 men. They were especially severe upon the new arrivals in Dr.Lang's ships, who had, in reality, given life and strength to theopponents of the system sought to be enforced.

The boon of Separation from New South Wales had, indeed, beeninsinuated as a sort of sop for the conversion of the districtinto a penal colony, or rather of a colony for the reception ofpersons supposed to have reached the half-way house toreformation. It would be idle to attempt to conceal that atfirst, to the established men of business and thelarge—employers of labour, the prospect had not its brightside. "Highly respectable individuals declare," (said theCourier) "that if Moreton Bay is to be the capital of acolony, it is immaterial to consider the elements from which thecolony is to be formed; and many persons maintain that some ofthe first colonies have arisen from the seeds of criminaltransportation." The tactics of the anti-transportationists, aswe have seen, pledged the district as such against the receptionof convicts; and, so far, a step was gained to the promoters of afree, as distinguished from a semi-penal, independence. As to theextended constitution for New South Wales and Victoria, nothingwas done; the bill introduced by Lord John Russell in the Houseof Commons being postponed and ultimately abandoned. The measurewas based upon a Report from a Committee of the PrivyCouncil—an able and statesmanlike paper—whoserecommendations, had they been carried into effect, would havebeen of the very greatest benefit to all Australia. The citationof some of them appears so apposite to the discussions which arenow every-day day matters with the self-elected patrons of thecolonies in the old country, and to the philosophic discoveriesof our own local world, that it would be inexcusable to omit thereference.

In dealing with the functions proposed to be given to what maybe termed the Colonial Legislature, the suggestions as to theirpower of altering the local constitutions, or modifying thereserved monetary appropriations, were precautionary and yetliberal; but it was in consideration of questions that mightconcern all the Australian colonies, that a wise and legislativespirit was most displayed. After disposing of the minor subjects,the report went on to deal with the possibility of differenttariffs in different colonies—a difference even thenexisting between South Australia and New South Wales—which,as the number of provinces increased, might be supposed tomultiply also; and assuming that such would be the case, itcontinues:—

"So great indeed would be the evil, and such theobstruction of the intercolonial trade, and so great the check tothe development of the resources of each of these colonies, thatit seems to us necessary that there should be one tariff commonto them all, so that goods might be carried from the one into theother with the same absolute freedom as between any two adjacentcounties in England."

Adopting the primary principle involved in this position, thecommittee recommended that one of the Australian governors shouldbe constituted Governor-General of Australia; that he should havepower to convene a body, to be called the General Assembly ofAustralia, who should be enabled to legislate in the mattersthereafter enumerated, but that the first meeting should not beconvoked until at least two of the Australian Legislatures hadrequested the Governor-General to exercise his powers ofconvocation. The Assembly was to consist of delegates elected bythe several Legislatures, and premising that the firsttariff—an uniform one—was to be fixed by the ImperialParliament, it was to have power to deal with—(1) theimputation of duties on imports and exports; (2) postage; (3)internal communication, roads, railways, etc.; (4) coast lightsand beacons; (5) shipping and harbour dues; (6) the establishmentof a general Supreme Court, either as an original one or ofappeal from the courts of separate colonies; (7) thedetermination of jurisdiction and procedure in each SupremeCourt; (8) weights and measures; (9) such other subjects as theymight be asked to consider by address from the Legislatures ofseparate colonies; and (10) the appropriation, by equal levy uponall the colonies, of the sums necessary to carry its enactmentsinto effect. When Lord John Russell moved the second reading ofthe bill, he further proposed to leave to the Assembly theinitiation of the uniform tariff and—a point of equalimportance—the regulation of the price of Crown lands. Itis exceedingly to be regretted, that any cause should haveoperated to the abandonment of a scheme so comprehensive inoutline, and so just in its general principle. Yet, that regretmay be qualified by the reflection that, had it been adopted,what trickling rills of wise suggestions would have been driedup; what volumes of indignant eloquence at their permittedsterility would have been neither spoken nor thought of. Ametropolis is the grave of small reputations—equally so isretrospection the executioner of mediocre originality; and weneed not, therefore, feel so very much surprise that almost allthe best points in multitudinous later schemes for Customsunions, and federal association, were anticipated more than aquarter of a century ago. More singular to me is the mean andstunted dimensions into which—from what influence I cannotlearn—the effective measure for conferring constitutions onthese colonies ultimately shrunk.

The transition from tariffs to trade is natural. The firstdetailed table of exports that I find, is on April 7, 1849, andit gives the values for the six months ending March 31 of thatyear, as £58,480, of which all but about £500 worth, was pastoralproduce. Among the smaller items was 210 tons of coal, value, £9410s. For the three months ending June 30, the total export was£32,651; for the next quarter, £14,281, and for the last quarterof 1849, £34,888—the whole for fifteen months being£140,103. The estimate of the applicants for a branch bank wasmore than confirmed by the results of the year's industry. Thestock in the district was estimated to have increased during theyear 1848, by 1,069 horses, 27,768 cattle, and 410,874sheep—cattle, 58 per cent., and sheep, 62. In otherindustries I am unable to rind any success. Mr. Bowden's effortsat the establishment of a sugar company, met with a good deal ofexpressed, but hardly the shadow of any practical, sympathy,although the capital required was fixed at the modest sum of£3,000, to be subscribed in two or three years; and partialordinary cultivation was promised to assure the shareholders fromloss. On trying Sydney, he met with a little better reception atfirst, but the ultimate result was the same, and in his letterannouncing his failure, he complained bitterly of the apathy withwhich his exertions had been encountered. Some canes, obtained atTahiti, were distributed, but nothing practical followed from thegrowth of the few planted. The cultivation of cotton wasdiscussed with some energy, and estimates were given of greatprofits to be realised, and the readers having congratulatedthemselves on the promising aspect of the industry, left othersto realise it. A company for running steamboats on the Brisbanewas announced, and there seems to have died out; but theenterprise of two residents, Messrs. Reid and Boyland, was shownin the employment of Mr. Winship in the construction of theHawk, a steamer of seventy tons burden, which ran for manyyears with varying success. "Awfully short of cash," according tothe local journal, was the great complaint. It is, therefore,creditable to the people that local subscriptions were enteredinto for the building of a Presbyterian Church, the Rev. C.Stewart, who had arrived in theChasely, taking an activepart in promoting the design. The Brisbane School of Arts wasalso started on September 24 of this year, and the firstdiscussion opened on October 11, following. There was muchadvance in interior settlement, as distinguished from mereoccupation. Although Drayton was proclaimed a township in thesame month, and vague rumours came of fine pastoral countrybehind Port Curtis, wistful glances were now and then throwntowards the slopes of the Dividing Range, and even northwards,where gold was supposed to await the miner, but no one seemedinclined to face the dangers of the search. The fate of poorKennedy had thrown great discouragement on exploration.

Kennedy, who was an assistant surveyor under the New SouthWales Government, and, although a young man of moderateexperience, had distinguished himself under Sir Thomas Mitchell,and, as we have seen in verifying that officer's discoveries, waslanded at Rockingham Bay on May 24, 1848, with instructions topenetrate thence to Albany Island, off Cape York, where he was tobe met by a schooner from Sydney, with supplies. He was then tomake his way back on the western side of the peninsula, andreturn to Sydney. The probable obstacles seem to have beenoverlooked, and some of the men sent with him—eleven, andan aboriginal named "Jacky Jacky"—were utterly unfit forsuch an enterprise; one was nearly an idiot, and another (thestorekeeper), a vagabond and a thief. The country wasmountainous, and for the most part, covered with dense scrub, andthe blacks numerous and savage. From their starting from thelanding place, to November 10, they travelled painfully andwearily over 450 miles of the country I have characterised, whenthey reached the neighbourhood of Weymouth Bay, having beencompelled to leave their carts and a portion of their storesbehind them. During the whole of this journey they were harassedby the natives, and, towards its end, suffered sorely from bothhunger and thirst, and yet were compelled to cut great part oftheir way through dense scrubs. On reaching Weymouth Bay (inlatitude about 13° 40'), Kennedy determined to push on theremaining 150 miles to Cape York with three men and theaboriginal, leaving his second—Mr. Canon—with theremaining seven, to "spell" at the camp. The miseries he enduredon this journey, up to the time of his death, were, as narratedby Jacky Jacky, extreme. About three weeks after leaving WeymouthBay, one of his party accidentally shot himself near ShelbourneBay, and Kennedy decided to leave him with the other two men,both in a state of considerable weakness, while he travelled, asrapidly as possible, over the remaining eighty or ninety miles tomeet the schooner, and bring her back to take them on board. Hetook Jacky Jacky with him. On the evening of the seventh day fromleaving them, and having reached a point near Escape River, atwhich they could see Albany, their destination, they weresurrounded by natives, who had tracked them on their journey.Kennedy, who was exhausted by hunger and fatigue, had been leftfor a few seconds by Jacky Jacky, who was intent on getting atthe back of the tribe, to scare them with his gun, but, before hecould accomplish what he intended, the unfortunate explorer waspierced by three spears, and his watch and other articles takenfrom him. Jacky cut out the weapons and carried him into thescrub, where, faint and dying, he asked for paper and pencil thathe might scrawl a few lines to the captain of the schooner, and,in the effort to use them, fell back into his companion's armsand expired. Jacky Jacky stayed, stupified with grief, for aboutan hour, "until I got well," and then buried the body, with therude means he had—digging the earth with his tomahawk, andcovering it with logs, his own shirt and trousers, and earth andleaves. Then, starting in the dark, and often driven to concealhimself in the creeks he waded along, he, after thirteen days,reached Albany in a wretched plight, and was taken on board theAriel, schooner, lying there expecting the traveller. Theschooner set sail for Shelbourne Bay, but on arrival there, theseamen refused to attempt the rescue of the three men left;little doubt, however, exists as to their fate, the blacks beingseen with part of their clothing. The trousers in which JackyJacky had buried his master were found in a canoe. TheAriel then went on to Weymouth Bay, near where, afterreaching the camp at the hazard of their lives, Captain Dobson,Dr. Vallagh, a seaman named Barrett, and Jacky Jacky, found Mr.Canon and one companion named Goddard, mere skeletons, fromstarvation and anxiety, sole survivors of the party. The rest hadone by one sunk under their sufferings. All that was gained by somuch misery and sacrifice of life, was the confirmation of whathad been before supposed—the impracticable nature of thecountry, and a verbose panegyric on the survivors in theGovernment Gazette. It is questionable how much thepassion for exploration may outrun necessity, or a just regardfor even common humanity. Leichhardt, Kennedy, Cunningham, remindus of the cost of its indulgence.

{Page 113}

CHAPTER VII.

1850-1851.

Arrival of moreConvicts—Condemnation of the Transportation System by theNew South Wales Legislature—The Second AustralianConstitution—The Singapore Route—Establishment ofCircuit Courts—Validity of "Calabashes"—Industrialand Social Progress—Ravages by the Blacks—Agitationon Transportation—Discovery of Gold in New SouthWales—Effect on the District—CottonCultivation—Improvement of the Port ofBrisbane—Further Ravages by the Blacks—Census of1851—Export Trade.

I have so far endeavoured to narrate,with, perhaps, greater minuteness than their apparent importancewould demand, the incidents which may be said to have decided fora long time the character of the district; but because they didso decide it I was thus minute. What followed up to the discoveryof gold in New South Wales, and subsequently in Victoria, waswhat might have been anticipated in the history of such asettlement. The immigration during the year 1850 was small. InJanuary "fifty orphans and thirty other immigrants" were sentfrom Sydney, and in March ten more females. In August, theEmigrant, to which vessel I have before referred, arriveddirect from England, having on board, when she left Plymouth, 272souls, bringing with her typhus fever, of which sixty-four caseshad occurred since May 12. These are all of which I have foundrecord. It transpired, however, that some of the leadingsquatters had not been idle, on a recent visit to London, inrepresenting to the Home Government the difficulties which thewant of labour interposed in the way of industrial progress, andin strengthening Earl Grey's hands by applications for theshipment of "exiles," a course which, however distasteful itmight have been to the majority in 1850, was certainly not atvariance with the current of public opinion as it ran in 1848.They and their friends may therefore be supposed to have been notungratified by the arrival of the Bangalore, in May, with 292convicts and 104 free meet, women, and children, including theguard of twenty-nine pensioners, their wives and relatives, andsome of those of previous probationers. Of the reformingpassengers, it is written "with few exceptions there was muchless sorrow and repentance for past offences than was more toseize future opportunities of repeating them." Forty-five wereshipped to Wide Bay, in nowise to their discontent, there beingno constables there. Having thus incurred the necessity forincreased protection, the Secretary of State directed the removalof the small military force then in the district, to the greatdissatisfaction of the residents, who memorialised the New SouthWales Government against the step, but without effect. On thegeneral question of transportation, resolutions condemnatory ofthe system were carried in the Legislative Council, early inOctober, the then Attorney-General—the late Mr.Plunkett—making a vigorous speech in their favour. Dr.Lang, who had returned to New South Wales, and been elected forSydney, had the satisfaction of voting in the majority.

The Separation Question gradually strengthened, and began tooccupy the leading columns of the newspapers; and theintelligence, that a clause had been embodied in the newConstitution Bill, authorising the Queen to create a new colonynorthward of the 30th degree of south latitude, which would haveincluded the Clarence and Richmond Rivers district, served toquicken the attention of the residents to the subject. At ameeting of the reading squatters, at Drayton, it was recommended,amongst other things, that accounts of the revenue andexpenditure in the district should be moved for in theLegislative Council, and that an effort should be made to securedirect shipment of produce to England, instead of by way ofSydney. But when the resignation by Colonel Snodgrass of his seatin the Legislative Council necessitated an election, there waslittle energy displayed in the gloved contest that ensued. Theone point looked to was Separation, and as a means towards it,the securing a due share of representation in any new Councilwhen the electoral districts were extended. Not one-third of theelectors recorded their votes, but sufficient were polled toreturn Mr. Robert Jones, a resident of Brisbane, in opposition toMr. Robert Campbell, of Sydney. While the election was stillpending, a public meeting was held at Brisbane to adopt apetition to the Queen, praying for Separation, at which itappeared plainly enough that, however strongly the feeling infavour of that object might be, it was not sufficiently so toinduce any lasting compromise between the friends and opponentsof the reception of prisoners. The petition made no reference tothat question, and was adopted by a large majority; but bothsides were preparing for a vigorous struggle. Mr. Lyon, who hadalways defended the introduction of "exiles" as necessary for thesupply of labour, had been assisted by the great employers, andthose whom they could influence, to the establishment of a secondnewspaper to advocate their own views. His connection with theMoreton Bay Free Press, as it was called, seems to havebeen short, and a succession of editors followed one another,equally zealous in the same cause.* The whole question was soondebated with no small virulence, both by the journals and the twosections into which the public were divided.

[* I may mention here, that theFree Presswas continued up to the time of Separation, and during the periodof its existence, is said to have displayed in its leadingcolumns, ability of no ordinary kind, At that time, I believe,Mr. Watts, afterwards for some mouths editor of the MelbourneArgus, was connected with thePress in a similarcapacity. I regret, that having male diligent search, I have notbeen able to find a single copy of theFree Press in thecolony—a fact, however, not to be taken in derogation ofits value. Few colonial newspapers seem to be looked upon withany very affectionate regard except by their own proprietors. Idoubt if I should have been able to find a file of theCourier, but for the conservative forethought of it, firstpublished, Mr. Swan.]

Along with this the probable form of the new Australianconstitution was discussed with some keenness. In opening theLegislative Council on June 4, the Governor informed them, thatit was the intention of the Home Government to press the proposedmeasure through Parliament; and a bill, based in great measureupon the report I have described in the preceding chapter, wasearly in the session once more brought in by Lord John Russell.In the course of its passage it suffered cruel curtailment, andsome able English statesmen protested energetically against theemasculated product, Mr. Roebuck deriving consolation from the"hope, that when the bill arrived in the colony, it would createsuch a degree of discontent, that Parliament would be obliged toreconsider the whole subject"—a hope in the nature of aprophecy, and one of which its author soon saw thefulfilment.

The Act in its final shape provided for the separation of thedistrict of Port Phillip from New South Wales, and its erectioninto the colony of Victoria. As respected New South Wales, itcontinued a Legislative Council, one third being nominees of theCrown. It lowered the minimum franchise, which had been the £20householder, to one of £10, and extended the right of voting tothe squatters (described by Lord John Russell as a wealthy andmost respectable body) in virtue of their leases. Afterprovisions respecting the Australian Colonies generally, notnecessary to be here noticed, it conferred on the Legislature ofNew South Wales the power of creating new electoral districts andincreasing the numbers of the members, providing, however, thatthe relative proportions of nominated and elected members shouldbe preserved. The Council were to impose taxes, and directappropriation, but a civil list of £72,000 was reserved fromtheir control, and the management and sale of the Crown lands,and their revenues were still retained by the Crown; while theprovision for the payment of the police by assessment wasabolished, and the cost directed to be defrayed out of thegeneral revenue. What was of infinitely greater importance, theAct left the construction of new constitutions, whenever any ofthe colonies grew tired of that now given them, with their ownlegislatures, subject to approval by the Imperial Parliament; andit provided, as I have said, for separation by the Queen inCouncil, of any territory lying northward of the 30th degree ofsouth Latitude from New South Wales, conditionally upon thepetition for such a severance from the resident householders ofthe territory. So far as it went, it was a step in advance; butin entrusting to each of the local legislatures the power offorming a constitution for its own colony, it affordedencouragement to that notion of diverse conditions and interestswhich has worked so much mischief throughout Australia. Had thesuggestions of the committee of the Privy Council been carriedout in their entirety, there might at this day have been a unitedAustralia, instead of a collection of disputatious and jealouscommunities, with their different tariffs, their conflictinglegislation, and their apparent incapacity of acting in concertfor any purpose tending towards the common welfare. Such as itwas, however, it was to be acted upon. The principal anxiety ofthe Moreton Bay people, was to secure a just proportion of powerin the new electoral distribution, and they awaited the meetingof the Legislative Council, by whom the adjustment was to bemade, with some anxiety.

The Act did not arrive in time for the Council to carry outits provisions during the year, but while it did sit some motionswere adopted, in which the district was more or less interested.In September, Mr. Donaldson obtained a committee to inquire intothe expediency of establishing steam mail communication withEurope by way of Singapore, which, as I find no further trace ofit, must have lapsed by the prorogation. It is worth noting, asshowing how strongly the idea of northern colonization andconnection with the East was impressed upon the colonial mindbefore the goldfields drove every other topic from publicattention—an idea which found further expression in theconfidence repeatedly shown in the annexation and colonization ofNew Guinea. Some further matters, mostly of temporary interest,were mooted by the same gentleman, who seems to have acted forthe then retiring local member, incapacitated by age andinfirmity, and some returns were obtained bearing upon theSeparation Question. The Moreton Bay people were very sanguine asto the early erection of the district into a separate colony, andbegan to dispute as to whom the principal merit of bringing aboutsuch a consummation was due, and as to the form it should assume.They did not imagine that they would have nine years delay inwhich they might have time to arrive at conclusions on bothpoints.

But in one thing the residents had occasion to congratulatethemselves. On February 12, in this year, a notice appeared intheGazette, of the establishment of a circuit of theSupreme Court for Moreton Bay; and on the 13th of the followingMay, it was opened by the late Mr. Justice Therry, in the chapelof the old convict barracks. There could have been little ofdignity in the room or its surroundings, but the judge addresseda preliminary charge which made a great impression at the time,and was afterwards reprinted and published. He rapidly traced theprogress of the district, and then went on to point out verylucidly, the principles which should guide jurors and witnessesin the discharge of their obligations. One illustration which hegave of the evils that may follow from the negligence orincapacity of a witness, appears worthy of preservation, and Iappend it in a note.* And it is a fact, more suggestive thanremarkable, that after twenty-three years of experience in thecriminal practice of the Courts, he gave it as his deliberatejudgment, that in the colonies emphatically intoxication was thehot bed of crime; "directly or indirectly, all crime is traceableto it—the exceptions being so few as to establish thegeneral rule." It was a significant comment on the habits of thetimes amongst the classes usually most productive of criminals,that there were none but criminal cases for trial at the sitting.One was of two men for a murder in the Wide Bay District. Theywere both convicted, and executed on the 8th of July following,protesting their innocence up to the last moment. Only fourexecutions had previously occurred in Moreton Bay—one, oftwo natives for aiding in the murder of Mr. Stapleton, thesurveyor—who were hanged at the old windmill; and thesecond, of two convicts, who suffered death behind the barracks,for the murder of two fellow prisoners. These were in the penaltimes; but after them and prior to the establishment of theCircuit Court, offenders were tried at Sydney, and the gaol therewas the place of execution, from which, on this occasion, theexecutioner's apparatus had to be procured.

[* "About the year 1835. when I happened to holdthe office of Assistant Crown Prosecutor, it was allotted to sueto conduct a prosecution against several persons, servants on anestate near Berrima, charged with the murder of a man in the sameemployment. The trial lasted the whole day, and the evidencevariously affected the prisoners; but there was one ofthem—John Lynch, on whom it had fixed a more prominent partin the perpetration of the deed than the others. Towards theclose of the trial a very material witness, and one who was tohave proved that Lynch had been seen on the day of the murderwithin a short distance of the spot on which an attempt had beenmade to consume the body by fire, and on other points, to bringguilt completely home to him, appeared in the witness box in sucha state of intemperance, that his testimony was valueless. Owingto that incident I attributed—and did not hesitate at thetime to avow it—the prosecution failed, and Lynch, with theothers, was acquitted. The presiding judge (the present SirWilliam Burton) most deservedly imposed a fine of £50 on thedelinquent witness, who was the overseer of the estate, on whichthe prisoners were convicts. This occurred in 1835, and six yearsafterwards, during the absence of the present respectedAttorney-General in England, his office devolved on me, and itbecame my duty at the Berrima assizes of that year, to prosecutethis same Lynch for a murder perpetrated under circumstances ofgreat enormity. For that murder he was tried, convicted, andexecuted. But the worst respecting him remains to be told. In theinterval between his acquittal in 1835, and his conviction in1842, he committed nine distinct murders, making the sum of Iristerrible guilt to amount to eleven murders, to which he confessedprevious to his execution; and in this admitted catalogue of hiscrimes, he acknowledged that the murder of his fellow servant onthe estate near Berrima, was one in which he had a principalshare. To all the greater guilt to deeds so horrible, these deedswere perpetrated under circumstances of atrocity to which, fromhis own narrative taken down from his lips, which I have read,the records of crime in this or any other country, furnish noparallel. A memorable and dreadful example of the calamity thatmay befal a community when a man, charged with a serious crime,of which he is guilty, is tried and acquitted, and let looseagain upon society—a far inure dangerous pest thanbefore—emboldened by impunity with fresh desperation andaugmented hardihood to enter anew upon a career of crime, andcalculating upon the difficulty of the proof of guilt, of whichhis experience of the ordeal through which he has lately passed,inspires a natural assurance."—Charge of Mr. JusticeTherry, at the opening of the Moreton Bay Circuit of the SupremeCourt, May 23, 1859.]

Another and somewhat remarkable trial, was that of threesoldiers of the 11th regiment of the line (a detachment of whichwas quartered here at the time), for wounding a native. A falsealarm was given one night that the blacks were spearing cattleclose to Brisbane, and rumour and fright, as usual, exaggeratingthe danger, the military were called out, and marched in pursuit,the officer in command directing his men not to fire withoutorders. When they came to the place where the blacks were camped,they found no signs of marauding, but there seems to have beensame unnecessary outcry, on which three or four hasty shots werefired, and some of the natives hurt, and with this offence themen were charged. One of them was found guilty, and sentenced tosix months' imprisonment. Some blame appears to have attached tothe police, and the chief constable was dismissed: I mention thematter simply as showing that justice was not invariably withheldin the case of wrong done to the aborigines.

Out of one of the minor trials arose a point as to thelegality of the "calabashes," which I have before described. Twoorders for insignificant amounts had been stolen, whereupon thequestion of value was started, the indictment having been soframed as to charge the accused with the theft of property ofvalue equal to the amount which the orders nominally represented.The judge was of opinion, that the documents being illegal underthe Act forbidding the making of notes or bills for amounts undertwenty shillings—the prisoner might be acquitted, butreserved the point: the Attorney-General thought the makers ofall such orders liable to prosecution. At the final judgment ofthe full court, in the following July, the orders were declaredto be valueless—whether their issue was criminal, thejudges declined to say, that question not being before them. TheAct (5 Geo. IV., No. 1) then in force, imposed a penalty of notless than £5 or more than £10 upon the maker for every order ornote he might issue. Nevertheless they continued to be made longafter the time I am now referring to, and, in fact, in theinterior, formed almost all the small currency of the country.The old adage, that necessity has no law, may be supposed to bethus illustrated.

One practical result from this trial, was an increased desirefor the facilities and protection afforded by a bank. A requestto the Bank of Australasia for the establishment of a branch, wascourteously acknowledged, and promised to be laid before thedirectors, but before their reply could be obtained, the Bank ofNew South Wales cheered the hearts of the residents by opening abranch in Brisbane, on November 14, and have since had no reasonto regret the step thus taken; the trade of the district, indeed,justified it. Comparing the exports from Moreton Bay for the year1830, with those of the preceding year, they exhibited a verysatisfactory increase—that on the last quarter of the yearbeing £15,033 over the amount of the corresponding quarter in1849, the year showing a total of £149,819. A very curiouscoincidence of figures occurs in the comparison—the advancein the year over its predecessor being exactly the same as thatof the last quarter of 1850 over the last quarter of 1849. Theexport was, as beforetime, almost wholly confined to pastoralproduce. In other industries there was some talk, but not muchreal progress. I notice that a bale of cotton was shipped fromSydney in January by Mr. Stuart A. Donaldson, and the news ofthis seems to have somewhat stimulated the Moreton Bay people.That the plant would grow was established clearly enough, andmuch industry was evinced in calculations to prove that it mightbe cultivated profitably. The estimates varied, but gave as atolerably certain permanent return about £15 per acre. The fewsamples which had reached the old country, had been highly spokenof, and Mr. Donaldson, who took considerable interest in theexperiment, procured seed from America, and sent a small quantityfor distribution among the settlers of Moreton Bay. Dr. Lang had,I believe, preceded him in rendering, that kind of assistance.There was plenty of hope, not much enterprise, and, as usual, agreat deal of doubt, latent if not expressed.

In its social progress the district kept steadily on. InBrisbane, the School of Arts had so far advanced that plans for anew building were called for—lectures and entertainments ofvarious kinds showing the spirit of its supporters. The RomanCatholic Church was finished; the Anglican Church commenced; andother religious denominations began to house themselves. Thehospital was well managed, and appreciated as a valuableinstitution. A new Custom House, which still forms part of themodest looking structure which shrinks from notice in the hollowbetween Queen Street and the river near Petrie's Bight, wasbuilt; and the people began then to grumble at the deficientsupply of pure water.. The education question, even in thoseearly days, supplied topic of debate, and lectures were deliveredby the advocates of the then rival systems, "denominational" and"national," the more cosmopolitan comprehensiveness of the"secular" not having been yet attained to. But in the fervour oftheir intellectual dissipation, the residents showed that theyretained "a frugal mind," and established a building society; andthey, moreover, had the advantage of an extension of legalblessings in the shape of the establishment of a branch of theInsolvent Court, the Police Magistrate acting as localCommissioner. In the interior, and towards the north, the processof settlement was quietly carried on, and Government sales wereheld at Ipswich, Drayton, and Warwick, of the lands in theirrespective vicinities. A township was established, at least inname, at Cleveland; and clerks of petty session were appointedfor the districts of Wide Bay, and the Maranoa, and at Gayndah.Wide Bay was gradually creeping into some importance as an outletfor the pastoral districts of the same name and for the Burnett,and some impatience was manifested for the survey of a townshipand the sale of allotments.

The great trouble of the residents—especially in theinterior—was the blacks; and the native police—aforce of natives who have undergone a certain amount of trainingfor the purpose, and are officered by Europeans—were inpretty constant requisition. At Mr. Dangar's station, on theCondamine, a concerted attack was made, the hut-keeper killed,and damage inflicted to the extent of £250 in value. The wholedistrict was described by the Commandant of the Police as in amost disturbed state, several stations having been abandoned andtwelve men killed. The condition of the frontier was, in fact,one of war, and we read of set encounters between the police andthe aborigines, much as of those between the troops and theBasutos in the Cape Colony. Mr. Frederick Walker, the thenCommandant, writes:—"I am convinced, that if properlyofficered by white persons, the natives of the colony would makeas good troops as the natives of India. I know that as long astheir officers stood none of the Native Police would stir." Hehad little difficulty in establishing a more quiet state ofthings than he found—though at what cost I see no recordof—and established his head quarters at Callandoon, on theMacintyre River. But from the Wide Bay and Burnett, there arosewailing and protest. Sheep were driven off, and shepherdsmurdered, [missing ~nine indecipherable words], some of the sheepwere recovered, and the blacks were reported as, under theirvigorous regime, becoming "more tractable:" there needs nointerpreter to explain what that means. Farther north, anadventurous traveller appears to have taken advantage of thisameliorated condition. A Mr. G. Francis, then recently from PortPhillip, reached a distance of about ninety miles north of theBurnett fiver, and seems to have discovered the Fitzroy.

There was grievance, too, in the higher walks of civilization.A New South Wales Postal Act had imposed a charge of one pennyfor the carriage of a newspaper, at which the wrath of the presswas excited. But the proprietor of theCourier derivedconsolation from an unusual source. He informed his subscribersthat, "as some inducement to them to pay up their accounts beforethey become deeply stricken in years, the postage will bededucted from all accounts with this journal that are notsuffered to run more than six months"—which suggests ahalcyon period when credit and impecuniosity were twins. Theeditor fell foul of the authorities because, although £35 hadbeen voted for the salary of a letter carrier, none had beenappointed—to the great discomfort of the mercantile andtrading community; and protest and representation were suggested.In due time the required official was appointed, and a ray ofpeace shone upon the editorial and mercantile mind.

The year 1851 commenced in heat, meteorologically andpolitically: the thermometer on New Year's Day stood at 101°within doors; and the friends and opponents of convict labourtook up their respective sides in undisguised hostility. Ameeting of stockholders and others in favour of separation with"exiles," was called for January 11; and the notice wasimmediately followed by another from the opposite party, for asecond or rather contemporaneous meeting, to protest against suchan accompaniment of the main object. The followers of each werenumerous, and I confess that I find some names on the list of theadvocates of "exile" labour, which I should almost as readilyexpect at the present day, to see in a committee for theintroduction of Kanakas. These went to work in a business-likeway; formed themselves at their meeting into what they termed theMoreton Bay and Northern Districts Separation Association:adopted a petition to the Queen in furtherance of their object;and resolved upon a canvass of the district, to raisesubscriptions towards the expenses they incurred. But,prohibiting all dissent from their resolutions, and refusingadmission at their meeting to any one opposed to their views,they gave a colouring to their procedure which it would haveshown better tactics to have avoided. "The high price and extremescarcity of labour," was the burden of their cry. Their opponentsassembled in public meeting, and adopted a petition in which,setting forth the claims and prospects of the districts, they"humbly but solemnly protest against the resumption oftransportation in any form, or upon any condition whatever." Inthis course they were stimulated and encouraged by the successwith which the Victorians were combating against what theyconsidered a great evil. But the advocates of forced labour wereunited and persevering. While a new Electoral Bill was passingthrough the Legislative Council, which met early in April, theywere canvassing and collecting, and preparing for an electioncampaign. When that bill was laid on the table, it appeared thatthe Council was to consist of forty-eight members, sixteen ofwhom were to be nominees of the Crown. Three members were to begiven to the Moreton Bay districts; one to the County Stanley;one for the united districts of Clarence and Darling Downs; andone for the united districts of Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett, andMaranoa. As the bill passed through the House, additions weremade, bringing up the total number of elective members tothirty-six; and Moreton Bay secured one of these for anelectorate called the Stanley Boroughs, comprising North andSouth Brisbane, Kangaroo Point, and Ipswich—an additionopposed oddly enough by Dr. Lang, on the supposition that itwould give another member to the squatting party in the House.And it is curious to read how not the bases of electoralright—whether of population or of property—wereconsidered in the discussion, but simply the use that might bemade of it if granted. That the boroughs were constituted anelectorate only made the exile separationists more eager; and, onMay 17—less than a month after the passage of the electoralbill—the Northern Districts Association held anothermeeting in Brisbane, at which they passed a resolution affirmingthat the majority of the people concurred in their views, andappointed two delegates—the Hon. Louis Hope and Mr. ColinMackenzie—to wait upon Earl Grey with copies of theresolutions adopted. Mr. A. Hodgson, who had taken an active partin the formation and advocacy of the association, withconsiderable energy avowed his attachment to, and interest in,the district which was his home; and soon after, with somecomplacency, published a letter from Earl Grey, in reality areply to one addressed to the Earl by that gentleman, hislordship suggesting, that if the Legislature of New South Walesproved obdurate, the district residents could apply forseparation, and so get the labour of which they stood in need.But some of the electors of the Stanley Boroughs thoughtotherwise, and, at a public meeting, unanimously nominated Mr. R.Jones, who had been member for the former county, as theircandidate, he being distinctly pledged as a stronganti-transportationist. The association put forward Mr. Hughes,of Gowrie—a station on the Darling Downs—inopposition to Mr. Jones, and Mr. W. Wilson, of the Peak MountainStation, as their nominee for the county. This was followed up bya meeting at Ipswich, at which resolutions in favour of bothgentlemen were carried. To meet Mr. Wilson, Mr. John Richardson,a merchant of Brisbane, was induced to enter the field. In theDarling Downs and Wide Bay electorates, it was known that therewould be no contest—the purely pastoral character of thedistrict, and the small number of votes, leaving the choice infact in the hands of the station proprietors. Dr. Lang, in aletter addressed to the residents in Moreton Bay, suggested, thatpractically, the discovery of the goldfields had destroyed allprospect of any portion of Eastern or Southern Australia becomingin any shape a convict colony, and that separation was theprincipal object for which to fight; but the people thought thatthey could appreciate the work to be done, and declined toabandon either of the grounds on which they had based theirselection of members. There is no doubt, that the abandonment ofthe pro-transportation party by Mr. Wentworth, and the weightthrown by his great ability and high reputation into the oppositescale, was no small encouragement to them in their course,although the discovery of gold was alleged by him as the soleground for his change of opinion. A powerful argument wasafforded them by a notice in theGovernment Gazette, thatno less than a hundred and thirty-seven ticket-of-leave holders,in Moreton Bay, had had their tickets cancelled, for absence fromtheir allotted districts, a fact which spoke volumes, both as tothe value and certainty of the labour, which the system contendedfor, was likely to supply. Both sides put forward their utmoststrength, and the result was that, at the election in September,Mr. Jones and Mr. Richardson were both elected. Whether or not,it was from a conviction that the transportation cause had becomehopeless, that the other two members—Messrs. Bigge andLeslie—remained quietly at home, I cannot say, but theirtwo colleagues formed part of a majority which, in the newLegislative Council of New South Wales, passed strong resolutionsagainst "the continuance of transportation, in any form whatever,to any of Her Majesty's Australasian possessions." Before this,the Order-in-Council for its revival had been revoked by the HomeGovernment; but, in November, a despatch was received from EarlGrey, in reply to the petitions of the stockholders, which I havebefore described, in which his lordship referred to theimpossibility of the Home Government acting in such a matter, inopposition to the wishes expressed by the local Legislature, andalmost despairingly suggested that if the—

"Legislature, which must be regarded as authorised toexpress the wishes of the community it represents, should thinkit right to reconsider the opinion it has declared, and torequest that convicts should again be sent, in limited numbers,to the above-mentioned district only, I am not aware of anyreason why this should not be done."—

Seed thrown by a skilful hand, but on barren ground.

Dr. Lang, who had during the year, involved himself inproceedings for libel by some ill-advised remarks upon thesupposed conduct of a member of the old Legislative Council, whohad concurred in a vote of censure on himself for his procedurein his immigration scheme, and been visited with fine andimprisonment, as a consequent punishment, emerged from hisconfinement to be placed, at the general election, at the head ofthe poll as one of the three members for the City of Sydney. Itwas not long before he visited the Moreton Bay District, wherehis first political step was to deliver a characteristic lectureon separation, proposing that the northern boundary of the colonyshould be kept at the Tropic of Capricorn; * the southern oneremaining, as it was understood it would be, at the 30th parallelof south latitude. A public meeting was held at Brisbane, a fewdays afterwards, when a temperate and argumentative petition forseparation was adopted, and Dr. Lang was requested to take chargeof it, and to act as delegate on behalf of the district. A set ofresolutions, affirming practicability of the profitable growth ofcotton at Moreton Bay, and recommending a scheme of immigrationon the same plan as that employed by Dr. Lang, was carriedwithout dissent, and committed to his care to lay before theSecretary of State for the Colonies, the Manchester Chamber ofCommerce, and such other parties in Great Britain as might belikely to aid in carrying out the system proposed. The doctorthen addressed the meeting, and is recorded to have met withunanimous applause, both at the commencement and conclusion ofhis speech. At Ipswich, the proceedings took a more business-likeshape. The petition adopted by the Brisbane people was somewhataltered, on the motion of Mr. Macalister, then emerging intopublic life, so as to ask specifically for semi-representativeinstitutions analogous to those of New South Wales. The thanks ofthe meeting were voted to the doctor for his past efforts, andabout £100 subscribed towards the expenses of his journey toEngland. It was understood that he declined further pecuniaryconnection with emigration schemes, the last one having, as hereiterated—and he was not contradicted—involved himin heavy monetary loss; and he returned to Sydney, sanguine ofbeing able to influence a large and continuous stream ofimmigration to the district for the cultivation of cotton, andthe planting a new industrial colony, prosperous in itself, and asource of prosperity to the empire of which it formed a part.

[* This was on the assumption, that the Clarenceand Richmond Rivers districts were included in the colony, whosecoast line would then have been less than 500 miles.]

But the discovery of gold, to which I have before incidentallyreferred, not only did more than any other circumstance or agencycould have effected in terminating transportation to the easternand southern Australian: Colonies, but exerted an effect scarcelydreamed of by Dr. Lang and his friends at the time: it, so tospeak, snuffed out the claims of the non-auriferous colonies inthe eyes of the emigrating British public, who rushed with oneaccord to those where the precious metal was to be found. TheEagle, steamer, brought the news of Hargreaves' discovery on May23, and "it seemed," (says theCourier). "to have made theSydney people half mad, which only shows how excitable they are."In another week, there were symptoms of the lunacy havingextended when the news was confirmed, and the extent and value ofthe discovery found to be beyond all expectations. It wasremembered that the Dividing or "Main" Range, as it was called,was a continuation of that near which the gold had been found atBathurst, and exploration was forthwith exhorted, whilespeculation was rife and hope strong, as to the investment offortunate diggers from the south of their new capital andremaining energies in a field so favourable as the northerndistricts for all industrial enterprises. There was some presentdrawback to these pleasurable imaginings, in the immediate risein the prices of flour and bread, whereby the bakers fell ontroublous times, and combinations to import for private use werethreatened and not formed. The labouring portion of the communityspoke of an increased wage, on the unreasonableness of which,they were lectured, both orally and in leading articles, but tono purpose. The fever was not allayed by the continuous tidingsof new "finds," which crowded the columns of the journals; and Inotice that sixty-six steerage passengers left Moreton Bay, forSydney, on June 19. A party was formed in Ipswich to prospect therange at once—a judicious step if the condition of the townwere as forlorn as described. "Business is at a completestand-still" (writes a correspondent): "the auctioneer's bell isoften heard, but it is perfect labour in vain. Not a single buyercan be found, forall are sellers." [The italics are notmine.] The discoveries of gold are daily increasing" (wrote theBathurst Free Press); and one consequence was, that inSydney, great distress arose among the wives and families ofabsent diggers, on which theHerald is reported in theCourier of June 26, to have advocated an Act of Council"to compel those worthless men to return to their families."They, who, in Moreton Bay, were, in their own Language, "firmlyimpressed with the opinion, that the goldfield of New South Walesextends to the districts of Stanley and Darling. Downs," gaveexpression to it in the shape of promised subscriptions, to theextent of about £900, towards a reward to be paid to the finderof a field equal to that of Bathurst. Then came news that Sydneyhad become dull at a temporary cessation of mining activity; andin another fortnight, that the people of Bathurst were wild withdelight at new discoveries, in which the find of a hundred weightof gold by one fortunate prospector, stood prominently out. Theexcitement here rose high, at the end of July, at intelligencethat the Government had received information of the finding ofgold on the Darling Downs, and that theHerald reported"that there was no doubt of a goldfield being discovered in thatlocality." Men went to bed at night dreaming of glittering sandsand nuggetty ravines, and rose in the morning to calculate theirpossible gains if those dreams were realised. We sometimes goafar to learn news of home, and the Moreton Bay people wereedified in August by what was news to them, that a fine specimenof auriferous quartz, sent from their district, had reachedSydney. TheCourier of the 9th of that month was radiantwith "finds." A specimen had been brought in from a spot nearBrisbane—possibly one of the gullies running easterly fromTaylor's Range. Another was affirmed to have been picked up onthe banks of the river, at a place to which, being easy ofaccess, a miscellaneous "rush" on a small scale, took place, withan odd assortment of digging tools, which included a colander anda baby's cradle, but nothing was found. What looked more seriouswas information—apparently authoritative—that goldhad been found on Canning Downs, and specimens sent to the lateRev. W. B. Clarke, the celebrated geologist, and that the finderintended to claim the reward. To wind up the week, the discovererof the quartz turned up, and declared himself to be sanguine thatthere was more where that came from. A Government surveyor foundgold at Thanes Creek, on the Darling Downs, and it was nextreported, that it had been discovered in quantity, in the WideBay District: but Gympie was reserved for a future and moreexigent period. Amidst the alternate exultation and depressionwhich rumour and contradiction excited, the extraordinaryrichness of the newly-opened fields in Victoria added to theexcitement, and gave cause for despondency to those residents whowere compelled to remain to deplore a possible exodus, whichrealised, would to them be ruin. They plucked up spirit again atreported fresh discoveries at Mount Brisbane and Widgee Widgee,but the reports did not prevent a continuousmigration—especially from the localities nearest theport—and I read of an unfortunate station holder on theLogan commencing shearing, himself and one shearer being thetotal available amount of labour. The rumours did not abate up tothe end of the year, but with no tangible result, except thattheir multiplicity awakened the attention of the New South WalesGovernment, who, to the gratification of the residents proposedto send Mr. Hargreaves to Moreton Bay, early in 1852. Nobody hadthe slightest doubt of there being plenty of gold in thedistrict, but most people wanted faith in those who were lookingfor it. Here was the right man coming to unlock the treasureswhich only awaited a discerning eye and skilful hand to be thrownopen to the people.

But all was not neglected for gold. The cultivation of cottonwas pursued, but with a caution which must have seemed cold tothe enthusiasm of Dr. Lang. The bale which had been sent toEngland from Sydney by Mr. Donaldson, in the preceding year, wasreported upon favourably by Mr. Boothman, the secretary to theManchester Chamber of Commerce; but one point was dwelt uponwhich seems scarcely to have received sufficient attention by thecotton growers of this colony; the importance of avoiding mixtureof staple. Another matter referred to, was the evident desire torival the Sea Island variety of the United States, which wasstrongly deprecated as not required by the nature of the homedemand; not more than thirty thousand bags of that particularkind being consumed in England out of the whole vast import. Thesuggestiveness of this latter advice was, I fear, suffered topass unnoticed, for, in our first Land Act after Separation, thebonus authorised to be paid on the export of Sea Island cotton,was just twice that for the export of the more common varieties.The Government of New South Wales threw out a littleencouragement. They offered premiums of £50 for the best fiftypounds weight of cotton wool, and of £25 for the same quantity ofthe next best. Dr. Hobbs was amongst our foremostexperimentalists, and produced good samples from some of the seedwhich had been forwarded by Mr. Donaldson for distribution. Mr.Robert Douglas was similarly hopeful, and similarly successful;and while their efforts indicated faith, news came to inspirehope. Mr. Poole, of Brisbane, had sent samples to Messrs. Youngand Co., of London, who, in reply, stated their value at 9d. to1s. per lb., and authorised immediate purchases to the amount of£1000, if they could be made. On this, it was proposed to form acotton-growing company, on the principle on which buildingsocieties are founded; but I do not see that anything came of theproposition. The first really commercial transaction that I findrecorded, was the purchase by Mr. Poole, from Mr. Douglas, ofabout half a ton of cotton, which was shipped in September,although, from the difficulty of ginning in the seed, thepractical result of Mr. Douglas' experiment was not veryencouraging, the profit on the unginned cotton from an acre ofground being reported as under £5; had facilities for properginning existed, the profit would have been greater. Anotheragricultural product, which now receives the attention itdeserves at the hands of cultivators, also crept into no rice.Mr. Childs, of Breakfast Creek, had turned his attention toarrowroot, at his farm there, and this year had half a ton ofroots in the ground. The samples of the previous year's producesent to Sydney were liked, and readily disposed of, but in this,as in most new industries, want of experience and paucity ofcapital were hindrances in the way of that success which entitlesthem to be considered national. Mining for coal was struggling toassert itself as a profitable pursuit. Mr. John Williams, who hadbeen a Chartist of some note, at a time when the once celebrated"five points" were not in such favour as, in the guise of liberalprinciples, they have since been, opened the first mine inMoreton Bay, on the south side of the river Brisbane, about fourmiles from Wolston. The mine was worked four years, and then, bythe rising of the river, flooded out, the seam dipping as it wasopened. Williams then commenced another pit at Moggill, on thenorth side of the river, about sixteen miles from Brisbane by theread which he worked with sufficient success to induce him thisyear to establish a depôt for the sale of his coal in the town.Another coal mine on the western bank of the Bremer, and a shortdistance front Ipswich, is also noticed as having been opened byMessrs. Heed and Boyland, and with promising prospects.

In other matters, the residents worked tolerably welltogether. A School of Arts building was completed in Brisbane.The simple accommodation it afforded was sufficient for someyears for the wants of the members: but its nondescript style ofarchitecture could have exerted but a perverse influence onartistic education. A market was proclaimed and trustees chosen;a new Evangelical chapel was completed and opened, as well as aWesleyan chapel and a Presbyterian church at South Brisbane.Ipswich was not behind hand in effort towards the establishmentof a literary institution of a more permanent character titan thelibrary and reading room. Nor were pleasure and health neglected:the capabilities of the bay coast, near Cabbage Tree Creek, wereexamined, and the first step taken towards the settlement ofSandgate. In the outlying districts, the progress was moderate.Maryborough was proclaimed a township, and the settlers had atlength the luxury of bidding against each other for townallotments.

While in matters that savoured of speculation, there waslittle of co-operative spirit in the people of Brisbane, theyunited readily enough where the benefit to be secured wastangible and certain, and in nothing were they moreanxious—except for the discovery of gold—than for theimprovement of the port. £100 had been voted by the LegislativeCouncil towards a survey of the obstructions at the mouth of theriver, in aid of which some subscriptions were invited, but, notmind to the credit of the up-country inhabitants, the invitationwas responded to by the residents of Brisbane only. A committeewas organised to superintend the expenditure, and Mr. Donaldson,on their application, sent them a civil engineer—Mr.Debenham—to make the necessary surveys and reports. By theend of June that gentleman had completed his task. I am unable toquote his report at length, but it was of sufficient merit todeserve analysis, if only for purposes of reference hereafter.His first question was, whether the formation of a channel acrossthe bar was practicable; his second, the best method of effectingthat object. The first he answered affirmatively; and, as to thesecond, recommended dredging—but he was emphatic ininsistence on the necessity for a preliminary improvement of theriver navigation by damming up the boat and other channels, and,as far as possible, contracting the bed of the river to a uniformwidth. This done, he considered the dredging of the bar would begreatly facilitated, and the maintenance of the channel easy. Thecost he estimated at £30,000; and the time required, six years.The late Mr. A. Petrie, upon the publication of this report,suggested marking the line of channel by beacons, and the use ofa simple machine to break up the bottom surface, leaving thedisturbed matter to be carried off by the current. And with that,for a time, the matter dropped.

The circuit courts sat twice in the year—an applicationfor a resident judge having been refused—and the calendarwas heavy in both instances. At the May assize, thirty-oneprisoners were in gaol awaiting their trials; and of these twowere for murder, one for a mail robbery, and a considerablenumber for crimes of a grave character. At the November sittings,a Chinese and an aboriginal were both found guilty of murder.There seems to have been a good deal of minor criminality in thedistrict—and of a kind which might have been expected fromthe class from which the criminals principally came. Theadditions to the population by immigration were small. OnFebruary 8, theDuchess of Northumberland brought 227immigrants, some of whom immediately left to join relatives inNew South Wales. Some discussion took place on a proposedintroduction of Germans, and a more angry one on the results ofthe Chinese importations which had been made by some of thelarger employers, with results that led to a general condemnationof that kind of labour. The settlers were sorely straightened,and the policy of the Colonial Office, equally with that of theNew South Wales Government towards them, was not of a kind toafford them aid, or induce their respect.

The blacks continued a source of annoyance, and loss of bothlife and property. A party of between four and five hundredattacked an outstation on M'Encroe's run, in the MaranoaDistrict, drove off a mob of cattle, and tried to fire the hut,so as a get at the overseer—an attempt which cost four ofthem their lives. They were afterwards followed, and a number ofthe cattle recovered, after a fight, in which nine blacks werekilled. In the Burnett District they were again unremitting intheir attacks, and the life of the outlying settler must havebeen one of continuous anxiety and alarm. It is not surprisingthat squatting settlement was not, under such circumstances, muchextended, or exploration attempted. Rumours came in thatLeichhardt and his party had been murdered before they had quitegot through the Maranoa District; but nothing of a definitenature could be arrived at, and, at length, it was determined tosend a party in search of him in charge of Mr. Hovenden Hely, whohad been with Leichhardt in the abortive attempt which terminatedat the Peak Downs.

I have now arrived at a period when a halting place may wellbe marked in the progress of this history. On March 1, 1851, thecensus of the colony of New South Wales was taken: on April 3,1881, the last one of the colony of Queensland was collected;thirty years separating the two dates. It will not beuninteresting or uninstructive to note, with more than usualdetail, the numbers, conditions, and avocations of the people of,what we may call, our own country at the earlier time. I omit thedistrict of Clarence, then included in the northerndistricts.

The total area of those districts as proclaimed, was 58,860square miles. On that area there were living 8,575 souls, dividedinto 6,012 males, and 2,563 females, of whom 1,558 males and1,180 females were more than twenty-one years of age, and only 68above sixty; 1,169 of the males were set down as married, and1,026 of the females, being an exceedingly small proportion. Asto their civil condition, 3,895 males had arrived free or werenatives of the colony, and 3,656 females; 1,469 males and 105females had become free, and there were 473 ticket-of-leaveholders—males; and two females of the same class. Iscarcely attach much value to some of the statistics as toreligion; but the analysis would not be complete without them,and the large numbers of Mohammedans and Pagans possess a certainsignificance. The numbers stand thus:—Professing, membersof the Church of England, 3,639; of the Church of Scotland, 930;Wesleyans, 293; other Protestants, 522; Roman Catholics, 2,318;Jews, 13; Mohammedans and Pagans, 571; and otherpersuasions—including, I suppose, those of no persuasion atall—24. The educational return was a melancholyone—3,678 males could read and write, and 1,251females—in all, 4,929, not much more than half the entirepopulation, 1,322, could read; the rest were destitute of anysemblance of education. The nationalities of the inhabitants areworth glancing at: 1,847 were born in the colony of New SouthWales; 3,075 were English; 38 Welsh; 1,939 Irish; 793 Scotch; 145came from other British possessions; and the remainder, almostwholly males, from foreign countries. For convenience sake, Itabulate the occupations in which they were said to beengaged:—

The preponderance of residents employed in connection withpastoral pursuits, was in accordance with the then character ofthe local industries; but I confess I am puzzled by the number ofhorticulturists and of educated persons with no specialavocation. The returns as to houses will afford opportunity forsome curious contrasts. There were 1,021 in all the northerndistricts, 718 of which were in the county of Stanley, I presumemostly in Brisbane and Ipswich. Of the whole number, 111 were ofstone or brick, and not one had a slated roof. The townpopulations comprised, at that time, more than half the grandtotal. In Brisbane and the suburbs there were 2,543; in Ipswich,932; in Maryborough, 299; in Warwick, 267; in Drayton, 200; andin Gayndah, 92. All the legal fraternity, and seventeen of themedical men, were collected in Brisbane and Ipswich. It maypossibly be, that the entire absence of legal aid was conduciveto that peace of mind which tends so much to the promotion ofphysical health, and so, in the interior, medical assistance wasless required.

The progress since 1846 had been great, the population hadbeen nearly doubled in every one of the old districts, and newones had been added; but the preponderance of the towns was not ahealthy sign, and the continued restriction to a solitary staplewas no subject for congratulation. The value of the exports forthe year was £181,038, an increase of £31,219 on those of 1850,the items still showing but a small amount attributable to otherthan pastoral pursuits, timber being the principal, and a by nomeans remarkable, exception. So far, figures affordedencouragement, yet, at the close of the year, the editor of theCourier declared—despite the abolition of thenewspaper postages, and removal to better quarters,* that "timeswere dull." What will the historian of the future collect fromthe statistics and the journalistic opinions of 1881?

[* The office was now removed to the corner ofGeorge and Charlotte Streets, a site which may, as history heregoes, be called historical.]

{Page 133}

CHAPTER VIII.

1852.

Efforts at Gold Discovery andCotton Cultivation—The Separation and TransportationQuestions—Unanimous Abandonment of the TransportationCause—Opposition of the New South Wales Government toSeparation—Hely's Expedition in Search ofLeichhardt—Social Progress—The Natives—LocalIndustries—Moreton Bay Steam NavigationCompany—Rainfall and Temperature.

With the year 1852 the desire for goldincreased, and the wish took practical expression in findingfunds by public subscription for the equipment of prospectingparties in various directions, whose researches invariablyresulted in failure. It may be doubted whether any of the effortsmade were of a kind to determine the gold-bearing qualities ofthe districts tried with anything like certainty, but at thetime, either from want of money or from absolute despair, theconclusions arrived at were generally accepted. There was oneenquiry which had been looked to with considerable hope, andwhose futility therefore caused more than ordinary vexation. Mr.Hargreaves came with all the prestige of past discovery, and ofGovernment authority, and assistance, but the promisedexamination can scarcely be considered other than a flying visitof the most cursory description. It was, in fact, little morethan an ordinary journey by the routes to the principal townshipson the Downs, and then through Cunningham's Gap to Ipswich,thence to Mount Brisbane and back, and so to Brisbane itself. Forall useful purposes the trip might well be regarded as valueless,and his report, when published, met with not a littleuncomplimentary criticism. Later in the year the settlement wasagitated by a rumour that an extensive goldfield had been foundat Bingara Creek, a tributary of the Gwydir River, and not veryfar west of the township of Warialda. As this was within theboundary understood to be determined upon whenever Separationshould take place, no small excitement followed the intelligence,and it was not long before parties were formed and travelled fromBrisbane, Ipswich, and other localities, towards the supposedgolden region. So strong was the belief in its importance, thatthose who did not go themselves, experienced its influence in avariety of forms. Employers found the possibility of high wagesstaring them in the face, and labourers gleefully anticipatedthat contingency. The police applied for an increase of their payand allowances. Unfortunately all their hopes and fears werepremature. It was soon discovered that there was nofield—that the gold was insignificant in quantity anduncertain in deposit, and the wayfarers having seen the nakednessof the land, returned weary, disappointed, and angry. The soleconsolatory fact that I find in the hopeful predictions andhopeless failures of the year, is that a former resident, who hadbeen successful in his mining adventures, realised the suggestionto which I have before referred, and showed his faith in thedistrict by sending money to purchase land for futureoccupation.

The cotton industry languished for want, as some said, ofenterprise, or, as others said, of labour. If reports on qualityand price could stimulate, those received from time to time,should have made men sanguine, but the reporters seem in allcases to have confined themselves to approval, and to have turneda deaf ear to any suggestions as to aid in capital or machinery.Dr. Hobbs, an old colonist, and long a member of our LegislativeCouncil, sent samples to the editor of the Economist, who, in histurn, submitted them to a Manchester cotton spinner, who was"delighted" with them, and valued them at 19d. per lb., furtherbestowing such encouragement as might be derived from hisopinion, that "the Board of Trade and the Colonial Office shouldknow the important fact that Moreton Bay can produce verysuperior and truly beautiful cotton wool." Other samplesforwarded to different quarters were appraised at about the samevalue, but I am unaware of the precise extent of eulogy whichtheir merits elicited. However, the cultivation began to assume adefinite appearance—about twenty-seven acres of Land beingspoken of as preparing for the purpose in August. Dr. Lang, whohad arrived in England, busied himself with characteristic energyin submitting samples, obtaining estimates and reports, andpressing the suitability of the soil and climate of Moreton Bayupon the attention of the British public. Towards the close ofthe year, the hearts of the experimentalists were cheered by afinal and elaborate report, obtained at his instance, from theManchester Chamber of Commerce, in which the secretary wound upby saying, "I believe the cultivation of cotton in MoretonBay—if that cultivation be pushed with energy—standsa better chance of success than any new industry of which I haveheard or read." Could encouragement be more direct, except,perhaps, the accompaniment of a moderate amount of capital, tolay the foundation of so profitable an enterprise? And while onthe subject of local industries, I may notice that Dr. Hobbs alsocommenced the trial of coffee growing on a small scale this year.There seems all through these trials to have been an ignorance ofwhat had been effected under the old convict regime by some ofthe most intelligent of the officers, which can only be accountedfor on the supposition that there was so much of the bad in thework to be forgotten, that what was really good perished in thegeneral disinclination to recollect.

At the commencement of the year, the residents had enough totrouble them as to labour. During the previous twelve months thesupply had been, as we have seen, scanty, to the suspension ofall but indispensable work, and the squatter contemplated hischances rather sadly; but as time rolled on, their long continuedremonstrances and petitions began to bear fruit, the moregrateful since the Chinese importations had become nuisances;and, while adding slightly to the effective industrial power,lengthened beyond all reasonable proportion the calendar ofcrime. TheMaria Soames, theArgyle, theMeridian, andRajah Gopaul, immigrant vessels,brought 1,119 souls, the greater number from Ireland, to add tothe population of the district, at which the people were glad;but the Gopaul brought, also, typhus fever, the discovery ofwhich led to quite an opposite feeling, and to the very propervisitation of the captain and surgeon with severe penalties.Sixty-four German immigrants came by way of Sydney, and, by theirquiet industry, gave general satisfaction. The relief affordedwas perceptible; but Dr. Lang's assiduous exertions appear tohave been none the less appreciated. At this period, too, theattention of the Colonial Legislature was directed, with nolittle perseverance, to the consideration of the whole system ofimmigration, and various schemes were suggested, which maygenerally be dismissed with the remark that their complexdetails, elaborated with much ingenuity, could have only resultedin proportionate failure. The principal recommendation of aselect committee, that immigrants to whom a free passage had beengranted, should re-pay the colony at the rate of £13 per head,exhibited about as little policy as justice, and more of faiththan precaution.

Neither the want of labour, nor its ultimate supply, divertedthe attention of the people from the two questions of separationand the renewal of transportation. The annual revenue derivablefrom the whole of the northern districts, directly andindirectly, was not more than about £30,000; but the advocates ofseparation urged that the public income of Western Australia wasconsiderably less: and the long withholding of a fair proportionof the immigrants sent to the colony generally, was a standinggrievance; while it was alleged that this district gut by nomeans its just share of the colonial outlay. And, as theinjustice complained of led to discontent, so the perpetualfluctuations of report engendered anxiety. One day the peoplewere told that separation only wanted some legal technicalitiesto be formally proclaimed; on another, that, not only wouldtransportation be continued in its most objectionable form to VanDiemen's Land, but, that Earl Grey had told Mr. King, theVictorian anti-transportation delegate, that "nearly everyrespectable man in the Moreton Bay District had signed thepetition for separation—of course, with the coveted exileaccompaniment. The Northern Districts Association, to promoteseparation with "exiles," sprang into renewed activity, and onMay 19, held a meeting of their supporters, at which Mr. ArthurHodgson moved the adoption of a petition to the Queen forseparation, "on the terms proposed"—I presume in the formermemorial—and Mr. T. L. M. Prior, a resolution that a lettershould be sent to the Secretary of State, deprecating any furtherdelay. The interference of the Australasian Anti-TransportationLeague in the question was strongly censured, and it was affirmedthat the non-discovery of gold here having resulted in a draft oflabour to the more fortunate districts, the introduction ofexiles was absolutely necessary. All the resolutions were carriedwithout dissent, and it was supposed that the Association hadachieved a success; but a few weeks after, the flattering notionwas dispelled. In June a despatch from Earl Grey to Sir CharlesFitzroy was published, acknowledging the receipt of the twopetitions described in my last chapter, and replying in detail tothe requests embodied in each. Admitting, that Her Majesty wouldhave been justified from them in at once dividing the colony, hislordship urged that separation would be best deferred until theinhabitants of Moreton Bay had been able to test, by experience,the value of the increased representation which they had in thenewly-elected Legislative Council; but he distinctly gave as hisopinion that, if after that, they continued dissatisfied, heshould feel justified in advising that the division should takeplace. As respected transportation, he stated, that if the colonywere divided, and the representatives of the newprovince—not the Legislative Council of New South Wales, asSir Charles Fitzroy's Executive had assumed—asked for thecontinuance or revival of that system, the request might begranted, although some of the conditions mentioned in thepetition for it already sent were inadmissible. Earl Grey endedby reminding the Governor, that the Executive minute whichaccompanied the petitions, and was adverse to their prayer, wasin error in confining the estimate of the probable Customsrevenue of the new settlement to the amount actually received atthe existing ports, as that was manifestly open to increase bythe sums received in Sydney on dutiable goods consumed in theMoreton Bay District. It was tolerably clear from this, thatthere was little chance of a renewal in any shape oftransportation to the district, and that most certainly it wouldnot be considered a condition precedent to the granting ofseparation. After some mutual remonstrance and explanation, ameeting of the inhabitants was called to petition the Queen atonce for separation, without any condition, and the feeling thatprompt action was required, was strengthened by a misapprehensionof a speech at Sydney, by a member of the Stanley Boroughs, Mr.B. Jones, in which he was supposed to have said, that iftransportation were definitely abolished, his constituents wouldnot so much press for separation. When the meeting was held inAugust, it was apparent that two dulcifying influences had beenat work—one, the despatch I have alluded to, which showedthat the hope of "exiles" had become an evanescent one—theother, that the arrival of the immigrant vessels had renderedthem less immediately necessary. Mr. Hodgson's capacity ofspontaneous conversion was powerfully developed, and the late Mr.St. George Gore found himself moving a resolution for separation,which was to be seconded by one of the most ardentanti-transportationists of the day, Mr. W. Munro Smith. Dr.Cannan and Mr. R. Cribb were at accord in supporting a petitionto Her Majesty for separation, in which—no doubt, to thegreat content of the latter—neither exiles, military,police establishments, or compensating immigration, foundmention. There was at last unanimity, no doubt, promoted by theunusual presence of ladies at the meeting, even in adopting thepractical suggestion of Mr. Little, that funds should besubscribed to provide for the expenses attendant upon, and ofpublishing what had been done, and of procuring the necessarysignatures to, the petition. Everybody seemed in good humour, buteverybody was not. There were a few who either could not or wouldnot understand the true bearing of Earl Grey's despatch, andprotested against the absence of stipulations against"convictism" in the petition, not seeing that any suchstipulation would be fatal to its reception. But they had theirgrowl, and so the controversy ended. Henceforth the contest wasto be for separation alone.

A fair consideration of the difficulties and nature of thesubject will, I think, exonerate both parties to that protractedand sometimes bitter dispute from much of the blame of oppositekinds that each has sustained. I do not think that the squattersalone desired the renewal of transportation. The names whichappear of its advocates prove the contrary—although, as thelargest employers of labour, they naturally attracted the mostattention. Custom deadens sensitiveness, and necessity suggestsexcuses. Those who, in the old country in advertising for agroom, would have made it a condition, that u[n]exceptionablereferences "should be given, became familiarised by use with theattendance upon their friends of servants whose sole referencewas their ticket-of-leave. And when men, who had become tolerantby that kind of saw their credit, and even their profitablechance of living, gradually melting away from the want of labour,it is not wonderful that they exerted themselves to get that kindwhich appeared to be most easily retained and controlled. As tothe philanthropic claim of becoming reformatory instruments whichsome paraded, as I never saw the effort in action I need notdiscuss its validity. The hostility shown to, and the abuselavished on, the anti-transportation party, seems to have beenexceedingly indefensible. Not so directly interested in thequestion, their prosperity depended upon that of the great stapleindustry of the settlement, for if that failed, their customerswere gone. This they perilled, and they had at least anintelligent principle upon which to take a stand. Their suspicionof the squatters was, however, unpalatable to those who hadnothing but the instincts of self-preservation or the desire ofwealth at the bottom of their procedure, as well as to those whofelt it really unjust; still they saw, that under the oldOrders-in-Council, the possibility of legal offence by some ofthem was treated as a not improbable contingency, and that onlyrecently had a squatting license conferred a vote, so thatwhatever might be the characters of some leading stockowners,there might be little reason to respect the rank and file. Nothaving seen that prisoners might be employed without danger, theyretained dislikes which, in a colony termed prejudices, in thesociety they had left were simply so natural as not even to bediscussed. It is creditable to both sides, that when the finaland wise determination of Earl Grey was given, both forgot theirdissensions, and heartily co-operated in a cause of whose justiceneither could entertain a doubt.

After the first congratulations on the settlement of thequestion were over, there was, as usual, some discussion as towhom it was to be really attributed. Making every allowance forthe weight attached to local opinion, we are not to forget thegreat influence exercised by the united and energeticremonstrances of the gold-producing colonies upon the finaldetermination of the Colonial Office. Whether Moreton Bay were aCrown colony or a representative one, it was clear that great andgeneral discontent would be excited throughout Australia, wereconvicts sent there. The effect of the new discoveries upon thepublic feeling of the old country upon this question—at onetime very languid—was rapid and strong; and, pressed bythese converging furces, without in form abandoning his ownconviction, Earl Grey adopted a constitutional opening for itspractical disappearance. Thus many causes tended to the same end;although, and in no wise detracting from the good service of whathad before time been a forlorn hope, there is no doubt that, sofar as the expression of opinion in the district itself wasconcerned, the settlers who came out in Dr. Lang's ships turnedthe scale.

It was soon evident, that on the remaining question ofseparation, both exertion and unanimity would be required. Theminute of the New South Wales Executive Council forwarded to EarlGrey upon the petitions for the erection of the district into aseparate colony had, as I have before implied, been hostile intone, and not very fair in statement. There was now to be addedto the opposition already experienced, that of the leading pressand of the Legislature of the parent colony. TheSydneyMorning Herald, of August 18, referring to the meeting I havedescribed, observes:—"It is difficult to mete out theportions of laughter, pity, and contempt which must be awarded toour misguided fellow-colonists lying to the northward of the 30thdegree of latitude;" and Mr. Wentworth, in the new ConstitutionBill, which he introduced this year, with characteristicdexterity, inserted a clause, which, if adopted, would have leftthe Imperial Government no discretion as to the boundaries to befixed whenever separation did take place. For that clausedeclared that those "of the colony of New South Wales shall notbe curtailed on the north side within the 26th degree of southlatitude." He would thus have included all the most populousportion of the district—the proposed line being east andwest to the north of Gympie, and half-way between that goldfieldand Maryborough. The influence and character of the man causedthis attempt to be viewed with considerable alarm, not lessenedby the discovery that some Sydney residents interested in theClarence River Districts had been endeavouring to get up apetition there against separation. On November 2, a meeting washeld in Brisbane, at which a short, but well-argued, petition tothe Council was unanimously adopted. It pointed out, that it wasin fact, an attempt to override the Imperial Act, 13 and 14 Vic.,chap. 5, by which the Council itself was constituted, and toabrogate the rights conferred by that Act upon the petitioners,in which they had now a vested interest. Some strong terms weremade use of with reference to the conduct of the Sydney press,and a hope was expressed that the appeal to the justice of theCouncil would not be in vain—a hope whose futilityexperience soon demonstrated. The adjournment of the Council leftthe petitioners unanswered till the following year. As to thegeneral legislation of the colony, I find nothing worth notice,except that the control and expenditure of its gold revenues wereconceded to it by the Crown. The end of the year found MoretonBay at the beginning of a contested election for the StanleyBoroughs, Mr. R. Jones, their representative, dying on NovemberG. Mr. Jones had been in the colony altogether thirty-threeyears, and had reached the seventieth year of his age, and wasmuch regretted in the district in which the later period of hislife had been spent. Dr. Lang and Mr. H. Stewart Russell, arespectable squatter of "liberal" tendencies, were spoken of ascandidates for the vacancy thus created, and ultimately, Dr. Langbeing in England, his name was withdrawn, and Mr. Russellelected.

There had been, from time to time, much anxiety expressed, andprobably some felt, as to the fate of Leichhardt. Rumours ofvarious kinds had reached the boundaries of the settlement, alltending to show that the intrepid explorer had died either fromprivation or violence, but none sufficiently reliable to call forserious attention. To arrive, however, at some conclusion on thesubject, as I have before said, the New South Wales Governmentdetermined to send an expedition on the route he had indicated,and Mr. Hovenden Hely left Sydney on January 1 of this year, witha party for that purpose. The bulk of his supplies were sent toBrisbane by sea, to meet him on the Darling Downs, he travellingoverland from the Hunter. He had with him six white companions,the usual labour, and Brown, the aboriginal, who accompaniedLeichhardt on his first expedition. They arrived at Westbrook onMarch 2, and thence proceeded to Surat, where they found rumours,that about a hundred miles to the north-west of Mount Abundance,Leichhardt and his associates had been murdered. These rested onno better authority than the statements of the natives, but theirparticularity extending to a pretending power of identifying thespot of the catastrophe where the bones and other relics of theparty might be found, gave them some force. Mr. Hely thereforeresolved to proceed, taking with him six weeks' provisions,leaving some of his party behind him to ascertain, if possible,in the locality itself, the correctness of the rumour. He reachedMount Bindango with some difficulty, more from want of water thanfrom any other circumstance, and was then compelled to return. Heagain started upon what may be called the main expedition, takingwith him a black of the district, named "Billy," as aninterpreter, and now and then picking up a native or two, fromwhom only indefinite information could be extracted. All,however, concurred in the assertion, that Leichhardt had beenmurdered, and in their description of the circumstances attendantupon his death. The limit of Mr. Hely's journey was a chain ofwater holes, apparently on the Warrego or one of its tributaries,situated in latitude 25° 30' S., and longitude 146° 35' E., wherehe fixed his twenty-second camp. From this and his preceding campas centres, he states that he explored the country for forty-fivemiles north, east, and west, finding no tracks of Leichhardt butthe site of two camps, whose positions appear to have beencorrectly indicated to him by the natives, and at short distancesfrom his own route. At the first were still—

"the tent poles and forks, the heavy saplings uponwhich he had placed his packs (showing that the ground must havebeen very wet and damp), and even the forked sticks and crosspieces in front of the fire at which they had most probablyroasted part of a kangaroo, the bones of which were lying about.There was also in one place a large quantity of cattle dung,showing where the bullocks had been bedded, but though Brown andBilly, who were also with me, looked carefully for tracks comingto or departing from, this camp, they could find no new the soilbeing, as I have found it ever since we reached the Maranoa,loose and sandy. The most probable reason for our never havingseen any of his camps before, is, that at the time he left MountAbundance, the whole country was in a state of inundation,consequently he could travel in any direction, always sure ofplenty of water; whereas, it has been so scarce since I have beenout, that we have been compelled to follow water courses, andeven then had to encamp more than once without any."

In the second camp he found very much the same kind of marks,but an equal absence of tracks; both were distinguished by a treemarked XXA in the lower part of a capital L. In the course of hislast exploratory excursions from the camp, he was deserted by hisinterpreter "Billy" (who found his way safely back); and hisprovisions falling short, one of his companions being ill, andthe information as to the actual scene of the supposed murder, atleast uncertain, he resolved to re-trace his steps, and arrivedat Surat on July 20, having achieved nothing beyond ascertainingthe direction in which Leichhardt had actually gone, and arepetition of the rumours upon which the expedition had beenoriginally determined What might have been done at that time by aman of greater resolution and resource, is another question.

The life of the district (apart from political matters andnatural accident) must have been what is generally calledhumdrum." There was now and then a spurt of excitement at thesupposed practicability of discovering a goldfield; there weremeetings at the School of Arts, and there wag a debating ordiscussion class, whose subjects and whose eloquence were of theusual kind. There seems, moreover, to have been already a sort ofnascent rivalry between the township at "the head of navigation,"and that which was the port—a rivalry not extinguished by aflood at Ipswich characterised at the time as the highest knownthere for eight or nine years, the Bremer rising twenty-fivefeet. Brisbane was, of course, not left unvisited, and the damageon the western tracks was considerable. A proposal to blow up theSeventeen Mile Rocks, on the river Brisbane, was one of the formsin which the natural resultant grumbling found vent But bothtownships had their dignity increased—Ipswich actually, andBrisbane in prospect—for a Police Magistrate was appointedto the former, while Captain Wickham, it was understood, was tobe promoted to the higher title of Government Resident, thusgiving to the latter, besides its advantages of situation, thecharacter of a provincial metropolis, The Brisbane Hospital wenton its useful and unostentatious way, and, as now, affordedconsiderable accommodation to patients from all parts of thecountry, without receiving a corresponding support. The generaltraffic on the then main roads I should imagine to have beensmall, from the prices realised at the annual sale of the ferriesacross the Brisbane. There were but two, and the principalone—that whose approaches from Queen Street so long vexedhorsemen and drivers, was sold in April for £113; the other toKangaroo Point for £19. The Circuit Courts gave a relief to, thegeneral monotony. There were forty-eight prisoners in gaol fortrial at the May circuit—a considerable number beingChinese, and that nationality was, to use a diplomatic phrase ofmodern invention, "adequately represented" at the second courtheld in November; but the residents no longer looked upon thecourt as the benevolent novelty it was when originally given tothem, and wanted a resident judge for themselves, for whichhigher blessing they had to wait—a bill for the purposebeing rejected in the Legislative Council by nineteen to sixteen.There was a little jealousy of Cleveland; and Cabbage Tree Creekbegan to assume a position of some importance. The value of theanchorage at a moderate distance from the shore, and theconsequent rapidity with which news might be brought to Brisbanefrom vessels newly-arrived in the bay, being insisted upon, aswell as the probability that masters of whalers would availthemselves of the facilities thus presented, to secure suppliesfrom Brisbane, rather than run the risk of losing their men bycalling at Sydney. I have read worse reasons in behalf of betterplaces—but Sandgate is not yet the Sandridge ofBrisbane.

The natives, as usual, were fertile sources of complaint, andsoon became equally so of controversy. In and close to the townsthey stole what they could; in the outside districts they bothstole and murdered. In the Burnett District, a Mr. Trevethan, anextensive stockholder, was killed by them, and many of his sheepdriven off. Station after station is reported as having beenattacked with similar results, and on the Pine their depredationswere frequent, and murder sometimes followed. But in what may becalled the reverse side to that which I have had to present, itis stated, that at one station on the Burnett, that of theMessrs. Strathden, the natives were employed as shepherds, andthat not a single sheep was lost; and in theCourier ofJune 15, in the communication from its Burnett correspondent Ifind the following:—

"The inhabitants were lately indulged with anaboriginal fight, when several were killed, and their bodiesroasted and eaten inside of the town; Mr. Wilmot, thestorekeeper, being the only gentleman whose stomach was strongenough to bear the spectacle of this disgustingfeast."

It is difficult to say, in this case, who were the greaterbarbarians, nor should I insert an anecdote of such revoltingbarbarity on all sides, but that I find its truth no wherechallenged. Additional native police was called for, and in thesame breath their utility was dialled. In the mass of conflictingstatement—inference and opinion, he would be a bold man whopresumed to pronounce any certain judgment as to the truth orvalue of either.

There is not much to record in the way of the establishment ofnew industries. It will be a surprise to some of my readers to betold that, in this year (1852), Mr. D. M'Connell attempted thecultivation of wheat at Bulimba, to the extent of about twentyacres, and, it is stated in the local journals, got twentybushels to the acre. Mr. Lumsden, of Moggill Creek, placed in thesame year a small quantity of similar grain of good quality inthe hands of Mr. Robert Cribb, of Brisbane. And, in this year,Mr. Pettigrew is recorded as being engaged in the erection ofpremises for the saw mills which first occupied the site of thepresent establishment. I read that some news had arrived of thepossibility of establishing an Australian company for makingAustralian preserved meats, and that the Admiralty lookedfavourably upon the notion; moreover, the Torres Straits routewas warmly advocated as essential to the interests of thisportion of the then colony. And as, perhaps, a prophetic example,both of enterprise and failure, a Moreton Bay Steam NavigationCompany was started in April, to run a boat between Brisbane andSydney. A meeting was held in May at the old Sovereign Hotel,when resolutions affirmatory both of the desirability andpracticability of the company were carried. The capital was to be£15,000, in shares of £10 each, no one to hold more than fiftyshares, a half to be paid on allocation, the other half in twelvemonths from that time. It was stated then, that the required boatcould be got, for £10,000, and that £6,000 had already beensubscribed, and a committee was forthwith appointed to carry theproject out. Ipswich followed the example of Brisbane in the wayof resolution and subscription. By the end of August, more thantwo-thirds of the required capital were subscribed for, and itwas resolved to proceed at once to allotment. In October afurther meeting was held, when a call of £4 10s. per share wasmade, estimates produced, and the usual preliminaries to definiteaction gone through. I regret to add, that as became sorespectable a predecessor in the way of localcommunication—for this company was initiated under the mostsatisfactory auspices—very early in the following year ameeting being called, it was resolved to proceed no further,except to pay necessary expenses. The failure was another weaponin the hands of the Sydney opponents of separation.

Such an ignominious break-down may have resulted, as wassuggested at the time, from the dissensions between the countryand town shareholders, or it may have been that subscription wasmore easy than payment. I am inclined to think that the latterhad something to do with it, for the export for the year showed avery poor increase on that of 1851, the total being £185,183, andthe advance only £4,146. I am now able to give the export for thesix months ending December 31, 1852—from the ClarenceRiver, £23,850; the Richmond, £16,[blank]; the Tweed, £960; andthe Mary, £10,568. Statistics are valuable sometimes, asindicating motion, and it is not wonderful that Mr. Wentworthtreated Wide Bay with such indifference—or that whenseparation became inevitable, the New South Wales interests,considering half a loaf better than no bread, contrived to getthe original boundaries between the two colonies altered, and sokept the Clarence and Richmond for themselves.

There is one important topic upon which I have been mostinexcusably silent. It is said that whenever two Englishmen meet,and are at a loss for a subject, they invariably find one in theweather, and on that I have said nothing. In its first magistrateand resident, Captain Wickham, the district was fortunate inhaving a man of scientific and observant mind; and I find, thatfor some time he was in the habit of contributing what he termeda "weather journal," to theCourier withregularity—such omissions as occur not being, I think,attributable to him. His observations comprise the period from1840 to April, 1850 inclusive, at which last date they, forunexplained reasons, ceased to be communicated, and I havetabulated them mostly in an abridged form, as perpetuating avaluable contribution to meteorological facts, and in the hopethat some generous man of science may fill up the intervalbetween April, 1850. and the time when meteorologicalobservations were officially and regularly taken, I believe, bythe late Dr. Barton in 1859 or '60.

I first give the rainfall during each month ininches:—

[*cætera desunt.]

The average temperature, as explained by Captain Wickhamhimself, he intended to imply "the register of the thermometer at9 a.m. in the shade, which is taken to be a near approximate tothe mean temperature of each day." The thermometricalobservations, it is to be regretted, do not commence untilJanuary, 1847:—

[*cætera desunt.]

From these records we are able to see that, between 1839 andApril 1850, in three years, 1841, 1843 and 1844, a more thanusual downpour took place, that in 1844 being extraordinary; andwe are not surprised to find it remembered, that a great floodtook place in Ipswich in January of that year, and that thecountry was continuously flooded for a long time, when therainfall in December, 1843, and January and February, 1844, wasmore than equal to that of all 1840, and 1842, and nearly equalto the fall of 1846. I trust to be able to connect theseobservations with those of Dr. Barton, as we shall then have atable of the rainfall in the district for a period of thirty-sixyears, and the deductions to be collected will be of great valueto the colonists in the East and West Moretons, and the DarlingDowns. Further north or west, I fear no records exist up to thetime when the official ones began to be taken.

{Page 147}

CHAPTER IX.

1853-1854.

Contemptuous Treatment of theDistrict in the New South Wales Legislative Council—CuriousElection—Progress of the New Constitution Bill—Tradeand Industry—Swindling AuriferousSpeculation—Disputes as to the Capital—ExportTrade—Immigration—The Rev. W. B. Clarke's GeologicalTour—Public Land Sales and Estimates—Earl Grey on theLand Laws—Administration and Crime—Progress ofIndustry in 1854—Murder of Mr. Strange.

The petition of the residents ofMoreton Bay against the separation clause in Mr. Wentworth's newConstitution Bill, met with very contemptuous treatment at thehands of that gentleman and his supporters, On the motion for itsbeing printed, in the Legislative Council, on December 10, 1852,Mr. Wentworth, in the scornful and haughty tone he could so wellemploy—

"had no hesitation in stating that the express objectof the clause alluded to, was to prevent the separation ofMoreton Bay and the erection of that insignificant depôt into anentrepôt for the convicts of the mother country. He did notsuppose there could be any question as to the policy ofpreventing a few individuals from becoming the tools of theColonial Minister, and thereby aiding the stealthy introductionto this colony of that class of persons."

Even great talents cannot cover inconsistency like that thusshown by a politician who had been one of the most prominentadvocates of transportation during the best years of his life.Whether his oratory or other feelings prevailed most, cannot beeven conjectured now, but the language generally used towards thepetitioners can scarcely be described as other than mostinsulting, and the printing of the petition was negatived on amiserable technicality by a vote of twenty-six to six. As soon asinformation of these proceedings reached Brisbane, a meeting washeld, and another petition adopted on the same subject, to bepresented when the Council should meet again.

There were in those days subjects of mirth, as well as ofgrave consideration to be derived from politics. The resignationof Mr. F. E. Bigge having left the electoral districts of WideBay, the Burnett, and Maranoa, unrepresented, a nominationmeeting was called, to be held at Ipswich, and on the dayappointed, the returning officer and three electors are said tohave attended, who were assisted by the counsel of two legalgentlemen. Mr. R. J. Smith, happening to come that way, held aconversation with one elector and one lawyer, and the result oftheir deliberations was, that Mr. Cameron proposed, and Mr.Douyere seconded that gentleman as a fit and proper person torepresent the constituency. Mr. W. B. Tooth then nominated Mr.Foster, of Wide Bay, but, as there were only two electors presentbesides himself, and both were pledged to the first nominee, hefailed to find a seconder. Mr. R. J. Smith was therefore declaredduly elected. That gentleman, in returning thanks, expressedhimself as determined to perform the duties of a representativefaithfully and assiduously, and said that he only came forward atthe eleventh hour to rescue the electorate fromnon-representation. It is reported that those present gave threecheers for him. It would not, I imagine, in so small an assembly,be difficult to secure unanimity, but how they could maintain thenecessary gravity, it is not so easy to conceive. The wholeprocedure, coupled with the failure of the steam company, wasmade good use of thereafter, in Sydney, against the district andits claims. What sort of feeling there was as to the position andduties of a member of Parliament, may be gathered from the fact,that the journals deplored that at the impending meeting of theCouncil, on May 10, only two out of the five members for thedistrict, were likely to attend the opening.

This paucity of attendance was the more to be regretted,inasmuch as it was known that, in that coming session, the NewSouth Wales Constitution would, in all probability, be finallysettled for submission to the Imperial Parliament, and thepublication of some very important despatches from the ColonialOffice rendered the settlement of its terms a matter of more thanordinary care. One from Sir John Pakington, in answer to thepetition for separation, intimated that the Government "did not,at present, see any sufficient reason for separation." Thesecond, in reply to a memorial from the Legislative Council ofNew South Wales, proposed to concede to the local Government thepower of dealing with the waste lands of the Crown, denying anyabsolute right in those lands, on the part of the inhabitants ofa colony, but treating the matter as one of expediency. Withreference to the constitution of the Legislature, thedesirability of a nominee Council and an elective Assembly, wasadmitted—"assuming that this is a change as to theexpediency of which general agreement prevails." Suggestions weremade as to the kind of civil list which it would be necessary topreserve, and the despatch concluded by expressing a hope withreference to the colony, that the proposed measure would "cementand perpetuate the ties of kindred, affection, and mutualconfidence which connect its people with those of the UnitedKingdom." A subsequent despatch from the Duke of Newcastle, who,when the Derby Ministry went out, succeeded to the ColonialOffice, in general terms confirmed that of his predecessor.

Somewhat in limitation of the complaints I have mentioned, Mr.J. Smith took the oaths and his seat about a fortnight after theopening of the Legislature, and in time for the discussions onthe new Constitution Bill, for the framing of which a Committeeof the Council had been appointed on the motion of Mr. Wentworth.As the Act, resulting from the Bill, is that by which practicallythe colony is now governed, its reception and progress may be ofsome interest. In its proper place, an abstract of our actualconstitution will be given, and I do not propose to anticipatethat, but simply to describe the changes which occurred in themeasure during its progress, and on its final submission to theImperial Parliament, as illustrative of the temper whichprevailed in most men's minds, and of the judgment that wasapplied to such subjects, at the time.

Mr. Wentworth still persisted in the clause which absolutelyfixed the boundary I have before described, and which had sodisquited the people of Moreton Bay. But in the bill, asoriginally laid before the Sydney Council, was a proposal which,as a curiosity in its way, it may be as well to particularize.The fourth, fifth, and sixth clauses ran, in their abstractedform, thus:—4. Power to vest in Her Majesty of appointingLegislative Councils, provided that no minister of religion orjudge of the Supreme Court shall be eligible. 5. Hereditarytitles may have a seat awarded them for life in the LegislativeCouncil. 6. When the holders of such hereditary titles amount innumber to fifty or upwards, the present Legislative Council tocease, and a Council composed of patentees for life, and of acertain number of elected persons holding such titles, to bethenceforward the Legislative Council. There were the usualprovisions as to absence, resignation, insolvency, and othercauses by which a seat could be vacated.

It might be difficult now to find any one courageous enough tobring forward such a proposal. Mr. Wentworth and hiscommittee—at least some of them—were theorists of nomean order, and did not lack argument in support of theirlegislation.

"Your committee," they say, "are not prepared torecommend the introduction into this colony of a right by descentto a seat in the Upper House; but are of opinion that theerection of hereditary titles, leaving it to the option of theCrown to annex to the title of the first patentee a seat in theUpper House, and conferring on the original patentees and theirdescendants, inheritors of their titles, a power to elect acertain number of their order, to form in conjunction with theoriginal patentees then living, the Upper House of Parliament,would be a great improvement upon any form of Government hithertotried or recommended in any British colony. They conceive that anUpper House, framed on this principle, whilst it would be freefrom the objections which have been urged against the House ofLords, on the ground of the hereditary right of legislation whichthey exercise, would lay the foundation of an aristocracy which,from their fortune, birth, leisure, and the superior educationtheir advantages would superinduce, would soon supply elementsfor the formation of an Upper House, modelled, as far ascircumstances will admit, upon the analogies of the BritishConstitution. Such a House would be a close imitation of theelective portion of the House of Lords, which is supplied fromthe Irish and Scottish peerage. Nor is it the least of theadvantages which would arise from the creation of a titled order,that it would necessarily form one of the strongest inducementsnot only to respectable families to remain in the colony, but tothe upper classes of the United Kingdom and other countries whoare desirous to emigrate, to choose it for their futurehome."

I can scarcely think that, had the authors of this proposalread the speeches delivered in the House of Lords in thediscussion on the Canadian Constitution, they could seriouslyhave thought that it would ever pass the Imperial Parliament; butMr. Wentworth was a man of imperious character; and there issomething which strongly warps the perceptions of men in theintoxication of merely local success. That able politician is notthe only one who, despite of really great powers, finds in astrange audience the fate of Æsop's musician.

The suggestion to give another representative for the StanleyBoroughs, and a resident judge for the district, did notreconcile the settlers to the proposed extinction of their hopesof separate government, or to the quasi territorial aristocracywhich it was intended to make. A nominee Council in any shape wasindeed highly unpopular throughout New South Wales, andespecially so in Sydney, and delay was asked for an expression ofpublic opinion before the bill was read a second time. All thatcould be obtained, however, was a consent, that were the secondreading agreed to, so that the desirability of two chambers couldbe affirmed, the discussion in committee might be postponed for amoderate period. The feeling in this district against the billand its author, was in nowise allayed by his language on thepresentation of the renewed petition for the omission of theboundaries clause.

"The result of the miserable policy of separationwould be the creation of a federal government, and wouldinevitably end in the overthrow of the British throne. If thepeople of Moreton Bay had a surplus revenue now, how long hadthey been a drag to the Sydney Government? The first thing theyshould do with their surplus revenue would be to pay their justdebts before they set up for themselves. The clause in 13 and 14Vic. he considered to be a degradation of the rights of thecolony and it was the manifest duty of the House to restore theold boundaries."

It is hardly possible to conceive anger more unreasoning, orargument more illogical. The debate on the second reading of theConstitution Bill itself took place on August 31, when Mr.Wentworth closed it with the last of his great efforts—aspeech which is said to have drawn cheers from all parts of theHouse, the strangers in the gallery included. The second readingwas carried by a majority of twenty-five to a minority of eight,and the Council soon afterwards adjourned.

About this time news was received in the district, that theHome Government had received the unanimous petition at whoseadoption the advocacy of transportation had been finallyabandoned, and that no decision had been arrived at. A publicmeeting to consider of further representations to the HomeGovernment, was then proposed; and, accordingly, on November 5,one described as the largest that had yet been seen in thedistrict, was held in Brisbane, when men of all classes wereunanimous in their resolutions, and another and lengthy petitionto the Queen was adopted. In support of its prayer, it set forththat, in all, the revenue derivable from the northern districtswas not less than £70,000 per annum; that the market value of thestock in them was nearly £2,000,000; that the freehold interestof the inhabitants was valued at £700,000; that the mineralwealth was ascertained to be extensively distributed, and onlyneeded population for its development, and that for this a systemof local self-government was indispensable. This was the eighthmeeting in favour of separation. At a subsequent stage of theproceedings, a petition against a nominee Council was adopted,but destined to have little effect.

The New South Wales Council resumed their sittings inDecember, when the Constitution Bill was committed. Acting, Isuppose, upon more mature consideration of the law and of thecourse that would probably be pursued by the Imperial Parliament;the hereditary titles clauses were struck out, and the one fixingthd boundaries of the colony in the event of separation broughtinto conformity with the Imperial Act under which the Council wasthen sitting. A clause disqualifying ministers of religion wasinserted, and finally the bill, thus amended, passed by a largemajority. It is not to be denied, that the measure thus arrivedat after so much debate and controversy was drawn in a very ablemanner. Some few alterations were made in its passage through theImperial Parliament, and portions of it have since been repealed,especially those relating to the suffrage, but in the main it is,as I have said, the basis of our own Constitution, a shortanalysis of its principal provisions may now therefore beadvisable,

In place of the one Legislative Council then existing, itsubstituted two chambers, the members of the first or Council,being nominated by the Crown, and of the second, or Assembly,elected by the constituencies created by the bill. The electoralqualification was either the possession of a freehold worth £100,or a household of an annual value of £10, or a leasehold of likeannual value, or a grazing license, or a salary of £100 perannum, or the payment of £40 per annum for board and lodging, orof £10 per annum for lodging only; and the payment of all ratesand taxes, or license fees, that might attach to the propertyqualification was made a condition precedent to the exercise of avote. The members of the first Legislative Council were to holdtheir seats for five years only from the date of appointment, butall future members summoned after the expiration of the firstfive years, were to be members for life, subject to the ordinaryprovision for the regulation of vacancies. Any one qualified tovote in the election of members of the Assembly, was declaredeligible for choice to that body. The President of the Councilwas to be appointed by the Crown, the Speaker of the Assemblybeing elected by the members. No person occupying a place ofprofit under the Crown was to be deemed capable of holding a seatin the Assembly, unless he were one of the five responsibleMinisters authorised by the Act, or of such additional membersnot being more than five as the Governor-in-Council might declarequalified. The sittings of the Parliament were to be held, atleast, once in each year, and more than twelve months was not tointervene between any two sittings. The duration of theLegislative Assembly was to be five years, subject to prorogationor dissolution by the Governor. The minimum number of the Councilwas fixed at twenty-one, one-third of the whole forming a quorum.The Legislative Assembly was to consist of fifty-four members,twenty forming a quorum. Power was given to both Chambers toprepare and adopt such standing orders and regulations as mightseem advisable, and to alter or re-construct the Legislatureitself upon the vote of a majority of the Council, and oftwo-thirds of the Assembly. The control of the Crown lands andrevenues derivable from them was vested in the Legislature thuscreated, and all duties and revenues were to form a consolidatedfund, out of which the expenditure of the colony was to beprovided, a civil list of £64,300 being reserved, including£28,000 for public worship. All taxation was to originate in theAssembly upon message from the Governor, and all payments onpublic account were directed to be made by Governor's warrant tothe Treasurer of the colony for the time being. There werelimitations as to the amount of pensions to be granted, andprovisions as to the Courts of Law, with which, as possessing nospecial Interest for us at the present time. I shall not troublethe reader. The Act itself was to come into force one month afterreceipt in the colony of the Royal assent to it, and the firstParliament was to be called within six months from theproclamation of the measure as law. There was one remarkablepoint in the bill. Before that time the land revenues of thecolony had been in great measure specially reserved for purposesof immigration: thenceforward they would be mingled with the restof the public income, and so, gradually, their proceeds passedinto the general routine of appropriation, as the deficiency intaxation or the temporary exigencies of the public service mightseem to require. That such a plan might be a great relief to ahard-pressed Treasurer, there can be little doubt. The equalvalue of its operation either on the land laws or the financialadministration of the colony, may be more open to question.

The Act once passed, the interest in the new constitution diedout. It went to the mother country, where, after a rather longinterval, it was confirmed by the Imperial Parliament in July,1855, in the meantime, the attention of the residents in thenorthern districts was concentrated more and more upon their ownlocal matters. The want of labour was still sorely felt, althoughsix immigrant vessels arrived in the year, and added rather morethan two thousand souls to the population. There was some talk ofobtaining labour from Victoria, but it resulted in nothing;meantime, wages were high, and the trade of the settlement seemsto have been improving. A new Immigration Act, which was passedduring the session, was expected to effect a great deal in theway of initiating a self-supporting stem; but it was harsh inspirit and stringent in regulation. It enacted that everyassisted, or free, immigrant, who should not, within fourteendays after arrival in the colony, have re-paid in full the costof his or her passage out, might be indented to any competentemployer, for the period of two years, whether such immigrantconsented to the arrangement or not. The employer was to pay halfthe cost of the passage at the time of hiring, and the other halfat the expiration of twelve months; the servant was not allowedto cancel the engagement until a year's service had beenrendered, and then only if the amount due for the passage hadbeen fully paid-up. The system soon failed, very few of theimmigrants paying the money, and the forced indenting beinghighly unpopular with them—as was indeed only to beexpected. The regulations of the Colonial Office did, to someextent, neutralize the bad impressions thus created, purchasersof land in the colony being entitled to have eighty per cent. oftheir purchase money applied towards the passage of suchemigrants as they might nominate, provided that the rules as toeligibility in other respects were observed. As to those who hadarrived in the district, there was a deficiency in the number ofsingle male adults, and some difficulty being temporarilyexperienced in placing out the families and single females, itwas suggested that the latter should be transhipped to Sydneywhere there was a great demand for domestic servants. CaptainWickham, however, was able to dispense with this assistance.There was considerable reluctance on the part of New South Walesto admit the labour absorbing power of the district, and therepresentations of the Government had an influence with the landand emigration commissioners, which all the exertions of Mr. Hopeand Mr. Leslie, although vigorously and persistently made, couldnot quite overcome.

There were still longing eyes cast towards the goldfields ofthe neighbouring colonies, and much hope was entertained that thevisits of the Rev. W. B. Clarke and Mr. Stutchbury, theGovernment geologist, would result in some discovery of note, butthe hope proved a vain one. To stimulate exertion, a number ofthe residents subscribed towards a reward fund, amounting in thewhole to more than £2,800, to any one who could produce proof ofthe existence of a payable gold mining district. Now and then astrong rumour quickened the public attention—Pikedale,Cunningham's Gap, and the Burnett, all furnished their quota ofreport, but in report it ended. In the steady pursuit of lesssensational industries, the settlers found some consolation. Theyield of cotton increased; agriculture began to assume somethinglike a definite position, the late Mr. Donald Coutts, who hadpurchased Bulimba from Mr. McConnell, being recorded as asuccessful cultivator, and raising at the rate of thirty bushelsof wheat to the acre on his farm there. A horticultural societywas formed, and a horticultural show held, which is reported assuccessful. The saw mills got into working order. Lemonade andsoda water had hitherto been imported from Sydney, but this yeara machine was brought to Brisbane, and a manufactory established;soap boiling, candle-making, and brewing were added to theindustries of the place; and Mr. T. B. Stephens saw his way tothe establishment of a local fellmongery; while ever and anon Inote the triumphant tone with which the local journals record therise in the value of town property, and of stations in theinterior. The fine station of Westbrook changed hands this year,having been purchased from Mr. Hughes by the late Mr. J. D.M'Lean, for £15,000—the rate per sheep being about fifteenshillings. For Canning Downs £50,000 is said to have been offeredand refused. The then restless activity of Dr. Hobbs brought thedugong oil into notice as a curative agent in consumption, andwith some share of success. Whatever might be the opinionentertained of them by the Sydney people, the residents showedtheir faith in their own district by a ready purchase of Crownlands whenever an opportunity offered. At one sale I read of£15,000 being invested in that direction—no small sum forso limited a population. Nor did the capitalists of the parentcolony neglect the opportunities opening to them. The Joint StockBank, the Union Bank of Australia, and the Bank of Australasia,all found their way here, and that it paid them to do so. MoretonBay began to figure conspicuously upon the Government estimates;the total vote for the year was nearly £25,000 for localpurposes, including £3,000 towards the erection of a lighthouseat Cape Moreton—a vote indicative of the increasedimportance of the port. Less satisfactory was the appropriationof £9,139 to the native police. The blacks seem to have been uponthe whole less troublesome. One of them, confined in Brisbanegaol, on a charge of murder, contrived to escape, and made hisway to the Maranoa, where he was again caught and brought back.More alarming to the district, was the news of a desperate gangof convicts who had escaped in an open boat from Norfolk Island,having landed in the bay and commenced a new career of robberyand violence. Immediate and energetic measures were adopted fortheir capture, which, after some delay, was effected; and theywere tried at the Circuit Court and sentenced to what must havebeen, in effect, a life-long imprisonment. What that class of menattempted by open violence, others, and on a much larger scale,did by fraud; and what is, perhaps, one of the most impudentdeceptions on record, is exposed in the newspapers of the day.When the gold discoveries in New South Wales had sufficientlystirred the English public, a Sydney speculator prepared to takeadvantage of the excitement. Assuming to be the owner of a largeextent of auriferous country, which had twenty miles frontage tothe Hunter River, and was exceedingly rich in the precious metal,he issued a prospectus of a company, with, I think, 100,000shares of £1 each, to work the favoured locality. He found nodifficulty in disposing of seventy-five thousand shares, and madea bargain that he should be credited with twenty-five thousandfully paid-up as in purchase of his interest. Of these herealised £11,000 worth, and depositing £4,000 worth of scrip withthe directors, borrowed £2,000 more. He then returned to NewSouth Wales, to which colony he was followed by tworepresentatives of the company, who were sent out to protect itsinterests. They soon found that they were appointed to asinecure. There was no gold on the Hunter River, and no twentymiles of frontage available. What they did find, was anunprofitable equity suit, and a great deal of sympathy, which didnot restore the lost capital, and merely left them to bewailtheir own and their friends' credulity.

The comparative merits of Cleveland and Brisbane were stilldebated, the Ipswich people and the Darling Downs squatterstaking most interest in Cleveland. At this day we look back uponthe bitterness with which the question was disputed withsomething like wonder, but the controversy was waged with greatheat then, and as if the existence of the older township wasreally endangered. Town allotments at Cleveland found a readysale, as indeed did land of every description, and thedisposition to buy was helped by the facilities which theestablishment of local land offices afforded. There was somediscontent felt at the refusal of the Government to hold the PortCurtis land sales at Brisbane, instead of at Sydney, a great dealof interest being felt in that portion of the country at thetime. Intending squatters pushed out; the Fitzroy was exploredfor some distance, and the country declared good, while thebeauties of the harbour at Gladstone were highly eulogised. Thereports of the Government surveyors were more than usuallyfavourable, even as to the capabilities of the soil forcultivation. Some curiosity was excited by Mr. W. B. Tooth'sbringing into Brisbane samples of wheat grown by him at WidgeeWidgee, and Woonga, in the Wide Bay District—the next tothe Port Curtis one—of whose qualities the local journalspeaks well; but I do not learn that the experiment was followedup. It is, nevertheless, now that the country in that directionis being rapidly occupied by selectors, worth recording; for whathas been done once might be done again. Westward the township ofDalby was proclaimed, and the little village of Gayndah began tohold up its head and talk of its central position. Cabbage TreeCreek had now become Sandgate; but improvement had its perils inthose days. Mr. Thos. Dowse and his sons, camping therepreliminary to more permanent occupation, were attacked by theblacks, and compelled, after some sharp fighting, in which Mr.Dowse was much hurt, to leave the place.

Altogether, there was no little activity in the settlementabout this time, and promise of what it might, under goodgovernment, become. The exports for the year more than realisedthe anticipations of the Separation Committee, who had estimatedthem at £400,000, the summary being as follows:—

The increase in the export from Brisbane was more than£80,000, but the bulk of all the trade was still pastoralproduce; the number of bales of wool from this port alone being7,968 in the year whose history I am writing. With so growing atrade the impediments in the two rivers—the Bremer and theBrisbane—began to be felt as serious hindrances, andmeetings were held, and petitions to the Sydney Governmentsigned, for a grant of money for their removal. This was refused,but a survey was promised to obtain data for estimating what thecost would really be.

I have said that the little town of Gayndah began to put forthit pretensions, but the fact would be hardly worth mentioning,were it not that one of our foremost public men of the presentday, Mr. W. H. Walsh, made the first entry into his public life,which I find on record, at the meeting held there to protestagainst the claims of Brisbane to be the metropolis. Those ofPort Curtis were insisted upon with considerablevehemence—a vehemence which redoubled when the demerits ofMoreton Bay were descanted upon. A petition was addressed to HerMajesty praying that Port Curtis might be the capital, which,seeing that Separation itself was at yet far distant, was, atleast, taking time by the forelock It is amusing to read thegrave statement in that petition, that "the site of the town ofBrisbane is universally allowed to have been so ill-chosen as toforbid its ever rising into a city of any importance."Politicians and historians may well be wary of prediction. Mr.Walsh and his co-adjutors had been preceded by much more rashprophets. In theGentleman's Magazine for September, 1786,I read:—

"It has been seen in the public prints, that a planfor forming a settlement in New Holland, for the restriction oftransported criminals, is actually to be carried into execution,but the plan is so wild and extravagant, that we can hardlybelieve it would be countenanced by any professional man after amoment's reflection. Not the distance only, but the almostimpracticability of crossing the line with a number of male andfemale criminals, who, in their cleanliest state, and as much atlarge as can with safety be allowed them in prison and withfrost, are hardly to be kept from putrid disorders, must for everrender such a plan abortive. The rains, tornadoes, and heats thataccompany these tempests near and under the line, are often fatalto the hardiest navigator, besides the mountainous seas that arealmost always to be encountered in passing the Cape and in thelatitude which the transports must pursue their course to NewHolland. No man, surely, who had a life to lose, of a relative ora friend that he wished ever again to see, would engage in sohazardous an undertaking. . . . Add to these objections that thenatives are the most savage and ferocious that Captain Cook metwith in exploring the coast of New Holland!"

And yet theGentleman's Magazine was wont to beconsidered sedate, scholarly, and trustworthy periodical.

The year 1854 was not an eventful one in the history of thedistrict Complaints of a deficiency of labour became rife oncemore, and the usual consequences of such a condition followed.Land was bought only to remain idle on the hands of thepurchaser. Houses were scarce and rents exorbitant, while skilledmechanics were in great request, and in some localities not to beobtained. Hope was entertained of an introduction of Germans,through the exertions of Mr. Lord, of Drayton, who went to Europewith the intention of initiating a regular emigration from theGerman States, but the ultimate result remained to be disclosed.Some interest, therefore, was felt in the possible success of Dr.Lang's Moreton Bay Land and Emigration Company, which he oncemore pushed forward with his usual vigour, and with more than hisusual discretion. While in England, from which he had not longreturned, he had corresponded and talked with all classes ofintending emigrants, and he brought with him petitions to theLegislative Council of New South Wales, from a variety ofassociated bodies, who, having been informed by him that a fund,arising from the sales of Crown lands, was available for theassistance of emigrants, desired to benefit by it in payment ofthe cost of their passages. He now proposed specially, in theinterest of the district, the establishment of the company I havenamed, with a capital of £250,000—capable of increase, ascircumstances might seem to justify—in shares of £25 each,one half being reserved for allotment in the mother country, theremaining half to be sold in the colony. Taking advantage of theland regulations I have before described, the capital was to beapplied to the purchase of land, so that eighty per cent., atleast, of the purchase money should be appropriated to theintroduction of immigrants. The profit of the company, would, itwas supposed, accrue from the gradual increase in the value ofthe land thus bought. Reputable emigrants, he suggested, shouldbe allowed to buy land at an advance of twenty-five per cent. onthe price paid by the Company to the Government, but theshareholders were to be allowed, if they thought proper, to takeup land to the amount of their shares at the cost price. Therewas a good deal of sound sense and thorough security in the plan;and it met with general approval here. He found no difficulty inorganising a provisional committee, of which Mr. James Gibbon,now a member of our Legislative Council, was secretary; Mr.Macalister, lately Premier, and afterwards Agent-General of thecolony, solicitor; and Mr. R. D. Somerset, treasurer. Headdressed large audiences both at Brisbane and Ipswich, inspeeches in which strong common sense and vigorous argument weremixed up with, and damaged by, much unnecessary virulence andsarcasm, but still with great success. The company seems to havegot, so far as preliminaries were concerned, into something likea workable shape, and in due time a bill for its incorporationwas brought into the Legislative Council, when a warm debate tookplace, which, unfortunately, resulted in its rejection by amajority of two. Nine elective members—amongst them thelate Sir C. Cowper, Sir James Martin, and Mr. Parkes—votedfor it; the majority was composed, with the exception of two, ofmembers of the Government and nominees. Dr. Lang informed thepeople of Moreton Bay of the result in a characteristic letter,more angry than usual in its terms, and therefore moremischievous in its results.

But in his first election for the County of Stanley, he hadhad to sustain a struggle which, if experienced by many, wouldhave caused them to exclaim, in the language of the prophet, ofold, "I do well to be angry." Mr. John Richardson, who had, fromthe commencement, represented the county, having resigned hisseat, the most ardent advocates of separation nominated Dr. Lang,while the squatters and their friends put forward Mr. ArthurHodgson in opposition to him. Dr. Lang left the district beforethe nomination on April 24, and Mr. Hodgson had the hustings tohimself. At the polling, the opposition between Brisbane andIpswich, which had been for some time increasing, became morestrongly marked, the doctor, who had a large majority inBrisbane, obtaining only one vote in Ipswich. The result gave hima majority of nine; but, at a later period, it was discoveredthat Drayton, on the Darling Downs, had been made a pollingplace, although it was outside the electoral boundary; and, bysome extraordinary process, votes were ordered to be taken thereon May 23—the day appointed for the election in the writbeing April 28. As was expected, Mr. Hodgson obtained the greaternumber, and the votes became equal, upon which the returningofficer gave his casting vote in favour of that gentleman. Thewhole procedure gives one an odd notion of what could be done inthose days.

Dr. Lang petitioned the Council against the return, and theresult was, that Mr. Hodgson was unseated. At the nominationwhich preceded the consequent fresh election in August, bothcandidates were present, and both spoke at length; Mr. Hodgsoncomplaining of Dr. Lang's coarse vituperation in language stillmore coarse, and Dr. Lang retorting with more vigour than grace.At the poll, finally, Dr. Lang was returned by a majority of one.There was some talk of petitioning against the election, but itdied out; what the doctor complained most of, and I think withjustice, was, that after he had been successful in his petitionto annul the first return, he had been mulct in £121 forcosts—which was the penalty, I presume, for an unpalatablesuccess.

He was not long in exerting himself on behalf of separation.On September 18, he moved for an address of the LegislativeCouncil to Her Majesty, praying for the immediate separation ofthe Moreton Bay District from the colony of New South Wales. Mr.Stuart Russell seconded the motion, but Mr. Leslie opposed it,and Mr. R. J. Smith moved the previous question. On a division,the doctor was defeated by a majority of twenty-three toseven.

Reverting to the subject of immigration, some slight relief tothe demand for labour was afforded by the arrival, in August, oftwo immigrant ships in the bay—theMonsoon, with304, and theGenghis Kahn, with 474, immigrants. They weresoon all engaged, with little perceptible diminution in therequirements of the district. In December, another vessel, theGeneral Hewitt arrived with 331 more, who were rapidlyabsorbed in the general population. These were all "assisted"immigrants, liable to engagement on the terms I have beforedescribed, and were not so well contented with the new system aswere its framers, which is not much to be wondered at. In hisspeech at the opening of the Council in June, Sir Charles Fitzroystated that the Emigration Commissioners in London found suchgreat difficulty in carrying that system out, that the old onewould have to be returned to. What was of more present value tothe residents, was an allusion, in the same speech, to the wantsof the district, and a recommendation of a provision for at leastsome of them.

Such a reference, no doubt, sprang from a visit paid toMoreton Bay by the Governor in the preceding March. On the 20thof that month he arrived in the bay in theCalliope,man-of-war; landed at Newstead, the then residence of CaptainWickham, and rode next day into Brisbane, where he receiveddeputations, made quiet and guarded speeches, and went throughthe tribulations incidental to Governors' progresses. Thence hetravelled on horseback, by way of Drayton, to the Darling Downs,returning through Warwick and by Cunningham's Gap to Brisbane,where he was entertained at what is described as "the firstpublic dinner given in Moreton Bay," and waited upon by theearnest advocates of separation, and upon both occasions managedto steer clear of embarrassing promises. After nearly threeweeks' stay in the district, he left for Port Curtis, and, aftera short inspection, returned to Sydney. One good result of hisvisit, was the restoration of the old botanic garden to itsformer use, and the commencement for it of a career of utilitywhich has gone on increasing till the present time.

Visitors of lower station, but of greater service, came to thedistrict. Mr. Moore, the director of the Botanic Gardens. Sydney,visited Brisbane, both to extend his own knowledge and todetermine what was required to restore the gardens here. The Rev.W. B. Clarke, the celebrated geologist, made an exploratory tourthrough the Darling Downs, down the range, and on the lower partof the route to Brisbane. Primarily, his visit was to ascertainthe probability of a payable goldfield being found. On that headhe reports:—

"Nothing but the overlying deposits of thecarboniferous formation and the trappean alluvia, which covernearly the whole of the Darling Downs District, and, as beforestated, the country beyond, about the heads of the waters fallinginto the Fitzroy Downs, &c., prevent the occurrence of agoldfield in the parallel of 28°. . . . As respects the lowerregions in the Downs, it is possible for gold to be found hereand there, but, if it is ever obtained in more thaninconsiderable quantity, it will require far more energy anddetermination than the talkers about it have yetexhibited."

There should be encouragement to the old deep-sinking minersin these observations. On the existence of tin ore Mr. Clarke wasfar more decided:—

"I may, however, remark, that though gold be wanting,there are gems and tin ore in many localities, of which littleaccount is taken; but which may, perhaps, be one day as valuableas gold. Respecting the tin ore, I may state that I found it inalmost every mass of drift in every portion of the country I haveexplored for gold, and that it is frequently abundant where goldis wanting. It exists in all the western streams, from the Peelto the Condamine, and it was equally common in the southerndistricts."

It seems odd, that seventeen years should have been allowed toelapse before the value of this opinion was tested; and eventhen, only to a partial extent.

The land sales went on with unabated vigour. When the PortCurtis lots were sold in Sydney, there was the usualfurore to buy on rumour what few or none of the purchasershad seen. The prices realised were very large, many of the townlots selling for £200 each. One lot of twenty-two perches brought£270; another of thirty-three perches, £370; and another, alittle larger, £455. It was calculated that the aggregate upsetprice of all the land offered at the first day's sale, was about£340, but the total proceeds that day were £9,368. On the secondday the amount realised was £3,497, making a total of £12,865.Cleveland, the other possible rival of Brisbane, as it was oncedeemed, seems to have commenced its decline—a mercantilefirm, which had established itself there, leaving the place, andthe bonded store being removed. In the district itself, land wasalways a marketable commodity. In Brisbane, for instance, on oneday at a sale of town and suburban lots at that town and atSandgate—land to the value of £5,136 was purchased. Therewere several suburban lots at Bulimba advertised, but withdrawnon a report from Mr. Stutchbury, the Government Geologist, thatcoal existed there. Land seems, indeed, to have been nearly theonly opening for the investment of savings. In 1854, there wereno theatres, no musical or public entertainments, no cabs, butfew hotels, and, apparently, little or no extravagance. Thesurplus earnings of the industrious went into the purchase ofproperty, and if, from the want of labour, they could not utilizethat property as rapidly as some of them wished, they at leastescaped the risk of over expenditure, and enjoyed the pleasure ofaccumulation.

The efforts at what may be called local improvement, now beganto take a more decided and definite shape than they had hithertodone, and the criticisms on local and Governmental managementbecame more precise and stringent. After many applications a roadsurveyor—Mr. Vigors—was appointed for the district bythe Government. A Savings Bank Bill was introduced into theCouncil and passed, and the estimates bore token that thenorthern country, as it was then called, was gradually improvingin the esteem of the Central Government, as they rose from about£25,000 in the preceding year to nearly £33,000 in this. Asuperintendent for the floating light at the northern entrance ofthe bay—it is said to have been a discarded vessel, whichhad been used for a similar purpose in Port Jackson—andfour light keepers are among the items. The expenses of theNative Police bore a large proportion to the total, more than£16,000 being voted for them from the Clarence River to PortCurtis. But, excepting £500 for improving the town of Brisbane,there was little or nothing for what might be called publicworks. These were in anticipation, especially for the bay and theriver. A memorial was sent, praying for a grant of £10,000towards clearing the bar, and £5,000 for a dredge,—and onNovember 7, the Governor, by message, recommended that £15,000should be so appropriated. In a reference to the requirements ofthe harbour, in a report of the committee of the LegislativeCouncil upon the state of the public works of the colony, I findthe deepening of the channel described as of "such importance asto demand the most favourable consideration." The GovernmentResident here recommended a further survey, and it was suggestedthat £1,000 should be placed on the estimates, in order that thatmight be first completed. A jetty at Cleveland had beencommenced, and to this the committee also turned their attention.They found that £1.000 had already been voted for the work, andthat £5,197 more would be required. They, therefore, proposed asuspension of the undertaking until it had been ascertained thatthe jetty would afford to the public advantages commensurate withits large cost. Although of more general interest, still ashaving a local application, I may refer to another, althoughmerely a progress report, from a committee appointed to enquireinto the operation of the laws and regulations respecting theCrown lands of the colony, in which they embody and approve ofthe opinions held by Earl Grey in 1846. In the perusal of thatextract, I can almost imagine myself to be reading a leadingarticle in a Queensland journal, or a report of the speech of aQueensland member of Parliament of the present day.

"It is obvious," says his Lordship, "that if thosewho now employ the Large runs which are required for the supportof considerable flocks and herds, while the country remains in astate of Nature, were allowed to acquire a permanent property inthose vast tracts of land, there would very soon indeed be noland of moderately easy access available for new settlers. I amaware that, under existing, regulations, complaints have beenmade, and not without much apparent foundation, that a difficultyis experienced by persons, who have accumulated small capitals,in finding means of purchasing allotments of land of sizesuitable to their circumstances, owing to the manner in which theextensive tracts have been appropriated by large capitalists. Injustice, therefore, to the poorer class of settlers, I considerit of vital importance, that in allowing wild lands to beoccupied for pasturage, the property of the Crown in those landsshould be effectually protected, so that as they are wanted forsettlement, they may be sold at a price which, while it is toohigh to admit of large tracts being obtained possession of bygrasping speculators, is yet sufficiently moderate to throw nodifficulty in the way of the industrious settler, who desires topurchase and to improve a farm of moderate extent."

I have said that criticism was becoming more precise andstringent, but it was not so one day before it was required. Twomen in the Harbour Master's Department were sent down the bay ina boat, manned by six blacks of a tribe known to be hostile tothe whites. They took with them a keg of spirits. All that wasfound thereafter was the signs of a sanguinary struggle nearSandgate, and the men were no more seen. Although large sums ofmoney had been spent in the purchase of land there, no one darebuild or improve for fear of assaults from theaborigines—Mr. Dowse, as I have related, having beencompelled to abandon the attempt. Roads there were none, and theinhabitants of the two principal towns were unable to obtainleave to place their streets in a passable condition, whileanything in the shape of assistance from Government was deniedthem, or, if promised, never forthcoming. They derived littleconsolation from the discovery that, however small the profitderived from the land they bought, those who sold had theprivilege of skimming the cream from what they paid. Thecommissions paid to the Government officers, holding positionssomewhat analogous to those of the Crown Lands Commissioners ofour own time, were so large, as at last to attract the attentionof the Executive Council. Between January 1, and December 19,1854, Captain Wickham received £973 6s. 8d.—£473 more thanhis salary as Government Resident; and Colonel Gray, at Ipswich,between June 13, 1853, and June 31, 1854, £236 1s. 10d. Thepublic justly thought that those gentlemen would have been wellremunerated by much less sums for attending two or three hourshalf a dozen times in the year, and that the balance might havebeen devoted to some of the local wants which pressed so heavilyupon them. I forbear multiplying instances, but I am constrainedto say, that in most of the official appointments of those days,the indirect emolument was often more than the direct salary, andthe public service suffered accordingly. The liberality of theGovernment to its officials at length became limited to acommission of five per cent. on all sales below £5,000 in oneyear, and two and a-half per cent. on all sales beyond that sum.It was worth while being a Crown Lands Commissioner, in additionto other official functions, in the colony of New South Wales inthose days, the Land sales in 1854 having reached more than£211,000.

The remnant of the exile element and the aboriginalcriminality combined to disturb the generally uniform socialquietude of the place. A brutal murder was committed at KangarooPoint, in January, by a man named Hanley, the victim being knownas Stevie Swords. There had been some drinking, and Swords hadleft the hut in which it occurred, when Hanley followed him,felled him to the ground with a heavy paling, and was seen tostrike him afterwards several heavy blows upon the head. Theblows penetrated to the brain. Hanley then went for the police,and accused one of his companions, who was helplessly drunk, ofthe murder. The proof was perfect at the trial, but the presidingjudge, Mr. Justice Dickenson, suggested that "it might be amatter for the jury how far Irishmen, accustomed to using sticksin their quarrels, might be supposed to strike a person about thehead without intending to cause death or grievous bodily harm."The jury did not seem to appreciate the suggestion, and foundHanley guilty. He was accordingly sentenced to death; but theSydney Executive commuted the punishment to five years' labour onthe roads. Perhaps they gave more weight to the assumption ofthat well-intentioned kind of beating, suggested by JudgeDickenson, than the jury could be induced to do. Whether theydid, of not I have thought the case worth noting as one of themost singular of those old eccentricities of justice with whichthe historian of those times gradually becomes familiar; andwhich, in equally grotesque form, do occasionally startle usnow.

A more satisfactory instance of the ultimate triumph of thelaw was shown in the capture and conviction of a notoriousaboriginal of great strength and cunning, named Dundalli, who,for years past, had been the terror of the district. In 1845, hehad assisted in robbing the Rev. Mr. Hausmann at Noogan Creek,and in burning his hut down with the charitable purpose ofburning the inmate as well. He was identified as the murderer ofMr. Gregor, at Caboolture Creek, as one concerned in the murderat the same time of a woman named Mary Shannon, and as the actualmurderer of two persons, named Waller and Boller, on the PineRiver. His connection with many other outrages was more thansuspected, but the evidence was difficult to collect. He wastried at the Circuit Court on November 25, found guilty, andcondemned to death At his execution, in the early part of theensuing year, a number of blacks congregated on the Windmill Hill(overlooking the then town of Brisbane), to whom he called in hisown language with great vehemence, and, as was subsequentlyfound, exhorted them to revenge his own death. It seems to havebeen as if a great burden had been removed from the residentswhen it was known that he was really dead. One "Davy," anotheraboriginal identified as the murderer of Mr. Trevethan, whosedeath I have before mentioned, was also found guilty, sentencedto death, and hung. There were at that time, two paid chaplainsto the gaol, and other ministers of religion in the town; but itis related, with the exception of one visit from a Roman Catholicclergyman, he was left unattended and uncared for, "pushed up theladder by the hangman, and precipitated into death," as men wouldhang a noisome beast of which they wished to get rid. Theoccurrence caused much comment at the time, and deservedly so.These executions did not deter the blacks from—perhapsstimulated them to—further crime. I find two more murdersby them, recorded during the year.

I turn from these gloomy records, which, however, could not,as characterizing a particular period, have been well omitted, tomore cheerful topics. The Horticultural Society of Brisbane heldanother show, which is said to have been successful; and anattempt was made towards the establishment of an Agricultural andPastoral Association. The Ipswich Library and Reading Room took amore definite shape, and subscriptions were readily forthcomingin its support; and, as if the genii of joint stock companies hadbeen propitiated to the infusion of fresh energy by Dr. Lang'semigration scheme, the Moreton Coal Company was started atIpswich, to commence with a capital of £25,000, in shares of £25each. The provisional committee was strong in local celebrities,and Mr. Macalister was secretary, but no locality of operationwas indicated in the prospectus, which seems to have been rathervague in its tenor. Another company was attempted to be formed,for the purpose of working the mines opened by Mr. Williams, anda few land owners co-operated to try the strata asserted by Mr.Stutchbury to be coal-bearing at Bulimba. Coal seems for a timeto have been as much thought of as gold; unfortunately theworking of the first was for a long time attended with as littlepermanent result as the search for the second. Occasional noticesof cotton are met with, mostly in the way of experiment andreport, but about twenty-five bales in all were exported, andsome samples of Moreton Bay cotton, having won the prizes offeredby the New South Wales Government, received the further approvalof the Manchester manufacturers; but, as yet, the industryremained within its usual limits. There were great speculationsas to what it might result in, but that was a speculativeperiod—in theory. I am sorry to have to deprive any of ourlocal politicians of the least possible claim to originality, andit is with some regret that I record finding the really firstidea of a railway to the Gulf of Carpentaria in theAustralianand New Zealand Gazette of July 1, 1854—the proposershaving the usual incorrect notions of our geographical positions,for they speak of a short line from Carpentaria to PortCurtis.

The ecclesiastical organisations were getting into activesystematic work. After long delays, the Anglican Church of St.John was consecrated by the Bishop of Newcastle on October 29,and a district association was formed to co-operate with thecentral one at Newcastle for church objects. The Rev. E. Griffitharrived to take charge of the Independent Church at Ipswich;there was a movement made towards the establishment of a Baptistcongregation; the Wesleyan had their usual church and missionarymeetings; and the Rev. Mr. M'Ginty went on the usual tenor of hisway in earning the good will of his Roman Catholic flock inIpswich, and in initiating subscriptions towards a new chapel fortheir accommodation. Turning to more temporal matters, I findthat the first Moreton Bay Building Society ended verysatisfactorily, and the shareholders having received their finalcheques, forthwith proceeded to prepare for the formation of asecond.

In the way of exploration nothing was done. The fate ofLeichhardt created some speculation, but no effort. The closingspeech of Sir Charles Fitzroy on the prorogation of theLegislative Council referred to some scheme for exploring theinterior of this island-continent by an expedition under theImperial Government, and he expressed a hope that, with that, asearch for the lost traveller would be combined. What, perhaps,more interested the residents of Moreton Bay, was theannouncement, that with reference to the examination of theMoreton Bay bar, and other public works, he, having receivednotice of his recall, left their initiation to hissuccessors.

It is to be regretted, that with the quarter ending March 30,1854, the usual table of exports ceased for a time, and thereexist no official documents in this colony relating to the yearsprior to separation. I gather from the returns published for thatquarter, that from the five districts the totals were asfollows:—

Making a total of nearly ninety-eight thousand pounds, inaddition to which there were the cargoes of two ships in theBrisbane, loaded, and waiting to sail for London, valued at about£50,000. The calculation was, that the total export in the yearwould exceed in value half a million sterling. The generalcharacter remained the same as in preceding years. Of thepastoral wealth of the district in 1853, I am able to give a moreauthoritative account from the New South Wales statistics, whichwere available at that time about seven months after thetermination of the year to which they related. The total livestock in the districts generally considered as the probable newnorthern colony, was as follows:—

From the then newly-formed pastoral district of theLeichhardt, no returns had been received; but the eight districtsenumerated contained a little more than one-fourth of the wholenumber of sheep in the entire colony.

Not as directly belonging to the history of this colony, butas connected with it, I refer to the disastrous result of ascientific expedition, in which Mr. Strange, formerly a residentin Moreton Bay, and Mr. Walter Hill, the Superintendent of ourBotanic Gardens, were engaged. On September 12, the ketch Vision,of fifty tons burden, left Brisbane, having been chartered by Mr.Strange, who had recently returned from England,

"for the purpose of searching to the northward forspecimens of natural history. . . . The party consists in all often persons, and it is proposed at present to proceed as far asCape York, returning, probably, in three or four months. Shouldthey be sufficiently adventurous, we shall not be at allsurprised to hear of some rich gold discoveries as the result oftheir expedition."

Thus far theCourier of the 16th of the same month. Thevessel arrived at the Percy Islands on October 14, and the nextday Mr. Strange, with Mr. Hill, a Moreton Island black namedDeliapy, Mr. Shenks, an assistant, the mate Spurling, and thecook Gittings, landed to get water. There they met the natives,and had some apparently friendly intercourse. Fortunately forhimself, Mr. Hill left the party on a solitary excursion, and wasabsent about an hour. On his return, he found a naked bodyamongst the mangroves, which turned out to be that of Spurling,who was quite dead; he next came upon Deliapy, who was hidden ina cleft of the rocks, and who, by degrees, managed to inform himthat the others had been murdered. Mr. Strange having in thestruggle shot one of them. Only that gentleman, as I gather, wasarmed at the time. The two managed to get to the boat, and pulledto the vessel. On proposing a further search, none but the masterwould venture, and, after lying off the island four days, withoutseeing any sign either of the natives or of their latecompanions, they made sail for Brisbane, where they arrived onNovember 14, to narrate their melancholy tale.

{Page 169}

CHAPTER X.

1855.

Local Animosities—Sir C.Fitzroy's Recall and Appointment of Sir WilliamDenison—Opening of the Legislative Council—Oppositionto Separation in New South Wales—Exertions of Mr. Wilkes inits behalf—Immigration—EcclesiasticalProgress—Crimean Patriotic Fund—The Blacks and theNative Police—Port Curtis—Bridge over theBrisbane—Survey of the Port—Legal Delays—FirstDirect Shipment to London—Brisbane BotanicGardens—Public Land Sales and OfficialCommissions—Local Movements—Wool SalesCharges—Exports—Starting of A. C. Gregory's FirstExpedition.

The year 1855 was, in some respects, amemorable one in the history of Moreton Bay. During its progressthe local animosities, which had for some time past beensmouldering, broke out into an open flame, heightened by theefforts of some who hoped to reap their own profit from thedissension; by others in the narrow-mindedness that can see noworld beyond the limits of its own circle, and no praise worthierthan the little adulation that it can offer for a short hour; andby some who, in pure ignorance, followed the guidance of thosewho should have read them a better lesson. In the face of aformidable opposition to the separation which all professed towish for—an opposition which was certain to tax theirunited energies, they began to squabble over the distribution ofthe good which, when it did come, it might bring. In their mutualdepreciatory vituperation, the common opponent found argumentagainst their common interest, and I do not doubt that theaccomplishment of the desired end was delayed at least a year bythese unfortunate dissensions. They were, in some respects, thenatural result of the old system of government, in which thecentral authorities were not only the dispensers of allpatronage, but teachers of the people to hug their dependence inthe hope of getting their full share of what was to be dispensed;the nearer the capital, and the more closely connected with it,the greater the chance of a satisfactory participation. Thecombatants for that distinction did not see that it would takelong years, even after separation might be granted, to finallydetermine the point in dispute, and that the course of trade andits ultimate development would have far more influence in fixingthe permanent site of the metropolis than the new locality ofpolitical administration. They had not read the manly andsagacious reply of an old Lord Mayor of London to James I., when,in a fit of ill-humour at the absence of an expected subsidy, theking threatened to remove the capital. "Your Majesty," said thestout old dignitary, "will at least please to leave us the riverThames."

Sir William Denison who had been Governor of Tasmania, landedin Sydney in January, to take the place of Sir Charles Fitzroy,who had been recalled. Sir Charles left Sydney by theMadras on the 28th. Little or no manifestation of feelingis said to have greeted him the last time he traversed the city,where he had represented the Sovereign of Great Britain fornearly eight years; and the adulation which, as I have related ina former chapter, broke forth on his arrival, no longer swelledfrom the lips of would-be parasites, impatient for the goodthings to come. Something has been written, and more insinuated,as to his personal character and conduct, which might have beenpartially induced by a weak indulgence to his own family, and wassaid to have had some weight with the Imperial authorities fromwhom, consequently, he received no further employment. But itwould be unjust to draw too authoritative an inference of thatkind, for there were others of higher capacity and stainlessreputation—Sir Richard Bourke, for instance—upon whomthe same fate fell.

Sir William Thomas Denison was a man of a very differentcharacter. Conscientious to the extent of thoroughly carrying outwhat he believed to be his duty, not equally accurate in hisperception of what that duty was, or nice in the choice of meansto secure its performance, he was quick in arriving at adecision, dogged in maintaining it when made—unless asuperior authority supplied him with the instructions that stoodto him in the place of knowledge—and impatient both ofopposition and opponents. An indefatigable worker, he meddledwith almost every conceivable branch of government, andsometimes—as in his suggestions as to taxation—withlittle benefit to himself or to his Ministers. From engineeringto political science—from political science totheology—from theology back to the details ofadministration, his mind was busy, his pen fluent; but hisindustry in mastering a subject was less apparent than hisconfidence in deciding upon it. These were qualities sure tobring him into collision with those who were entrusted withoffice in what is called responsible Government, who, withequally strong convictions, had not only to consider theexpediency of forcing, but to question their right to force,their own views on a people as free to judge as themselves. Hehad never appreciated the condition, so pithily expressed by SirHenry Barkley, that, in the face of Parliamentary institutions,he reigned, but did not govern. In demeanour, he was somewhatabrupt, kindly to his dependents, staunch to his supporters, butsevere and almost vindictive to those who questioned his course.Ostensibly almost radical in his political principles, he wasthoroughly autocratic in his colonial tendencies. Temperate,moral, and strict in the observance of his religious duties, andcharitable to the poor, his example was, perhaps, more felt thanfollowed; but his virtues stood him in good stead with those wholooked only on the surface. The mischiefs that resulted from hisdefects we shall trace as this history goes on.

The inhabitants of the district, however, seemed content toanticipate good things from his administration. Addresses ofcongratulation upon his accession to office, were the order ofthe day. In that from Brisbane, the inhabitants congratulatedthemselves on his arrival, dilated on the importance of thedistrict, and solicited an early visit. Those of the countrylocalities generally followed the example thus set, but theIpswich one was more demonstrative. It assumed that "superhumanqualifications" would be required to "steer between the Scylla ofDowning Street bureaucracy on the one hand, and the Charybis ofpopular discontent and incessant grumbling of the colonists onthe other," but modestly stated that the subscribers would hopefor the best under Sir William's administration, and believedthat he was, "in short, well qualified to put the rusty machineryof the present colonial Government to rights." Finally, itpointed out one cause of the unhappy differences between formerGovernors and the colonists in the want of sympathy between them."Her Majesty's representatives have been amongst us, but not ofus; Government House has ever been surrounded by aChevaux-de-frise of conventionalism that has continued tohold the bulk of intelligence and industry throughout the colonyaloof." I can imagine the grim smile with which a man of SirWilliam Denison's character received this combination of lectureand confidence.

Having discharged these duties, the people betook themselvesto matters of more immediate interest. Mr. Leslie's resignationrendered an election for the district of Clarence and DarlingDowns necessary, when four candidates appeared—Mr. Holt, ofSydney; Mr. Hood, of Talgai; Mr. Gordon Sandeman, and the lateMr. Thomas de Lacy Moffatt. There was a good deal of acerbitydisplayed during the contest; and, before the nomination, itbecame narrowed to one between Mr. Hood and Mr. Sandeman, theothers having retired. At the nomination, Mr. John Douglas madehis first appearance in local politics, as the proposer of Mr.Hood, and met with a negligence, according to the report, whichwould indicate that he was not then as well listened to as heusually is now. The final result of the election was, that Mr.Hood was returned, by a majority of fifty-six. The constituencyof the Maranoa does not seem to have been well satisfied with theefforts of its representative. A number of the electors obtainedfrom him an appointment to meet and discuss certain questions, onwhich his conduct was alleged to have been unsatisfactory; but,when the time came, he failed to attend. A numerously-signedrequisition was then sent to him to resign; but, during the year,I find no trace of any response—a sort of acknowledgement,which produced great discontent amongst the malcontent electors,but does not seem to have impaired the good humour of theirnominal representative.

The Legislative Council was opened by Sir William Denison, onJune 5, in a speech which travelled over a great variety oftopics. Education, local government, the management of roads andrailways, steam communication with Europe, immigration, convictdiscipline, the administration of justice with a specialreference to the establishment of a permanent court at Brisbane,the defences of Sydney, marriage and registration bills,goldfields management, payment for public works by loans ratherthan by current revenue; these formed some of the subjects towhich he called attention in a speech described as of thesoundest practical character. In his observations, with referenceto railway construction, he advocated a system which should givean average speed of ten or twelve miles an hour, "by employingthe material which nature has placed at our disposal,"anticipating that, by these means, the cost of the roads would beso far reduced, that in some few years, the number of miles ofrailway in the colony "may be reckoned by thousands." Hecertainly had in his mind the American system, which, in theStates, had been in extensive use, and which, since that time,has been employed with great success in Canada. The system whichwas adopted in America in 1855, has been but slightly modifiedsince for localities whose population is scattered, andcommunication difficult; and it is somewhat deprecatory of ourusual complacency on our progress, to find that it was twenty-sixyears after that time before we began to think of the practicalexperience of countries in circumstances analogous to those ofour own colony, instead of listening to the theories andjudgments of professional men who never once saw these methods intheir working application.

While the Council was intent on discussing these matters, aportion of the ceiling of their Chamber fell in, and they werecompelled to adjourn; but not before a bill for the betteradministration of justice at Moreton Bay had been broughtin—that object being supposed to be secured by theappointment of a judge, to be called the Recorder of Brisbane,with a primary jurisdiction similar to that of the Supreme Court(to which a right of appeal was given), and a variety of minorjurisdictions; the requisite subordinates being duly providedfor. On the reassembling of the Council, Dr. Lang introduced hisbill for the incorporation of the Moreton Bay Land andImmigration Company, which was referred to a select committee.Another select committee—one on immigration, moved for byDr. Lang—was denied, as it is said, because the rightmeasure had been proposed by the wrong person.

A financial minute of Sir William Denison's, accompanying theestimates, was submitted to the Council, when the singularspectacle was exhibited of the Colonial Treasurer, moving thatthe House go into committee for Supply, being met by the adversemotion from the Solicitor-General, that both the minute andestimates should be referred to a select committee. Thisoccurrence has always struck me as a curious instance of whatmight be attempted by a power which, believing itself to beright, was not always careful of the means by which the rightmight be attained. Sir William Denison, as I have said, was anautocrat, especially in the Cabinet, and select committees aremore easily manipulated than a whole Assembly; and, looking tothe records of that Governor's career, I am compelled to believethat the subsequent interpellations of Mr. Parkes, as to whoreally was the leader of the Government, were called for. Inthese days no such manœuvres could be attempted, and nosuch curious exhibitions be made. Whether the Solicitor-General'smotion was carried or not, I can find no records within thecolony to show, but I infer that it was defeated from thescattered reports I have. The amounts proposed in the northernestimates were large, and included some unusual items. For signalstations between the entrance to the river and the town, £1,000was set down; £20,000 for a new gaol at Brisbane; £3,000 for abridge over Lockyer's Creek; and nearly £800 for wages of menemployed in the construction of works for the provision of waterfor the township of Gladstone. But a general feeling seemed toprevail, that the favourite system of Sir William Denison, localassessment, was carried too far, and that much was imposed uponthat which might have been upon loan. In the Council itself, avery determined opposition was made to some of the proposals ofthe Government, thirty-four divisions taking place on a proposedvote of £12,018 for a volunteer artillery corps. As a placebo tothe indignation which Sir William Denison might feel at thisdetermined opposition, his salary was raised from £5,000 to£7,000 per annum by a very large majority. A petition fromIpswich, praying that the lands of Moreton Bay might not bepledged in a general loan for the public works of the wholecolony, was ordered to be printed, and on September 18, Mr. Hoodmoved for the sum of £3,000 "for the purpose of obtaining asurvey and estimate for the construction of a tramroad from thehead of the navigation of the river Brisbane, at Ipswich, to theDarling Downs, and thence, by way of Warwick, to Tenterfield andNew England," which, however, he had to withdraw. The Moreton BayDistrict Court Bill was abandoned, to the great regret of theinhabitants, but the estimate for the Brisbane gaol wascarried—the ultimate punishment of offenders being thus,apparently, of more importance than the adequacy of means toensure the justice of their conviction. The last of the oldLegislative Councils, having shown its characteristic obstinacyin refusing, as far as possible, adequate provision for therequirements of the district, was prorogued on December 17, andon the last day of the year, became a recollection. Henceforththe value of responsible government was to be tried in the colonyof New South Wales. The share of representation allotted to thenorth was not very large—five out of fifty-four.

While these events were passing, a vacancy occurred in therepresentation of the Stanley Boroughs, by the resignation of Mr.Stuart Russell, which was filled up by the election of the formermember, Mr. Richardson, in his place. The principal argument inhis favour, was his uniform adherence to separation, a question,concerning which the most lively interest continued to be felt inthe district, and which began to attract more and more attentionin Sydney. The Empire newspaper, in an able and temperatearticle, advocated the principle; but the dependence of theresidents upon the ultimate decision of the Colonial Office, wasmuch shaken by advises from England, in which the circumstance ofthe previous question having been moved by Mr. R. J. Smith, inopposition to the resolutions for separation I have described ina previous chapter, was referred to as exerting a discouragingeffect. TheSydney Morning Herald attempted to show theutter unfitness of the district for self-government, censuring invery strong terms the apathy of its people as shown in thefailure of all attempts to use their own material resources, andinstancing in most sarcastic terms their inability to worktogether in the promotion of even a steamboat company. If I citea portion of these observations, I do so in no spirit ofreflection either upon the people of that time or of this;retrospection may be usefully exercised, and there have beencircumstances, even since separation, to which those censures oftwenty-five years ago might be usefully applied.

"They have never been able to establish a steamcommunication with Sydney, but, as much as they desire to beindependent of the middle district, are forced to rely upon aSydney company to furnish them with steamboats, and upon Sydneymerchants to undertake their whole external commerce. And evenwhen an enterprising public company in Sydney comes forward atconsiderable risk to provide the lazy folks of Brisbane withregular steam communication, they cannot do even so much on theirpart as to find coals for the use of their steamers. Their greatstaple of wool is endangered by the presence of a dangerousepidemic amongst their sheep, and yet they cannot agree amongthemselves as to what measures should be taken to check the eviland provide against its recurrence. A stock insurancecompany—the obvious remedy—was talked of, and went sofar as to be organised, but like every similar movement of thekind in the north, it never survived the issue of theprospectus."

The local journals met the charges thus made, by insistingthat the want of self-government was the real cause of the apathythus charged against Moreton Bay—a reply that was appositeenough at the time. It was, however, elicited in the Council,that despatches had been re-received from Lord John Russell, thenSecretary for the Colonies, requesting the Governor to reportupon the expediency of separating Moreton Bay from New SouthWales, and the erection of it into a separate colony; to whichthe Governor had replied that he would report as directed. Theopponents of the measure in New South Wales at once took thealarm, and theHerald was the first to assist Sir WilliamDenison in the formation of his opinion, suggesting that extendedmunicipal institutions would meet all the requirements of thedistrict; to which a powerful reply was given by theCourier, in an article, whose merits are such, that Iregret my limits will not permit its extraction; and there, forthe year, the discussion ended. The principle of separation wasregarded on all sides as settled.

"Parliament," said theSydney Herald, withregretful bitterness, "has even gone so far as to devise a formof government for this colony in embryo, and no doubt it wouldhave performed the same kind office for Pinchgut Island, had LordJohn Russell made the request."

The two questions of the dividing line between the old and newcolonies, and the adjustment of the debt, were all that remainedto be decided; the second has never yet been determined; as tothe first, the unhappy local dissensions were availed of bywatchful opponents to lessen the extent and value of the boonwhen it ultimately came.

I have said that the discussion for the time ended; but thereare a few figures which may be well quoted, as showing theknowledge of the subject and the care with which the late Mr.Wilkes—for some years, and at a critical period, editor oftheCourier—went into the subject. Assuming that thedistricts were united in a separate colony, he estimated therevenue for 1856, at £120,082; the expenditure—allowing fora single chamber only—£3,000 per annum for a Governor;£1,500 a year for a Judge; £1,500 for a Colonial Secretary;£1,000 a year for a Treasurer; and for all that was in the Sydneyvotes as well—he calculated £82,154, leaving £39,000available for immigration. The population, from Port Curtis tothe then supposed southern boundary, including the Clarence andRichmond Districts, he estimated at 20,000. In the year1860—the first after separation—when our populationwas 29,000, the revenue was £182,317, the land returns being£41,000 more than Mr. Wilkes' estimate; the other increasearising from miscellaneous items accruing from the great activityof settlement then displayed. The expenditure of the year 1850,was £161,000, but £41,000 was allowed for that in the Lands andWorks Department, bringing the remaining outlay down to about£120,000, which, allowing for the greater extent of countryoccupied, and the increase by nearly one-half in the numbers ofthe population, may be considered as peculiarly confirmatory ofthe soundness of Mr. Wilkes' views. I never had the pleasure ofwhat may be called a personal acquaintance with that very cleverwriter; but it is equally a gratification and a duty to me to paythis tribute to the care, caution, and accuracy, of which I havegiven an instance, with which Mr. Wilkes, during some years, maybe said to have led the contest for separation in the district;and none the less, that when the usual formal compliment has beenpaid to the "Press." the members who have illustrated its valueand adorned its history, are thereupon, and as a matter ofcourse, forgotten. They may, of all men, apply to themselves thesomewhat mournful language of Edmund Burke—"What shadows weare and what shadows we pursue."

Immigration came in more regularly, but yet not in sufficientquantity to meet the growing requirements of the times. Sevenvessels, in all, arrived from the United Kingdom, bringing about2,500 souls to add to the population; and to these were added aconsiderable influx of Germans, mainly through the agency of aHamburg firm—Messrs. Godefroy and Sons. Mr. Lord, who leftMoreton Bay for the purpose of engaging a continuous supply inGermany, upon a special agreement, found, after he had been sometime in that country, that his authority had been superseded,through the agency of the Messrs. Godefroy's representative inSydney, and that, so far from that firm co-operating with him,they were, in reality, acting in direct opposition to hisefforts; his mission, therefore, was a failure. In all, fourGerman vessels seem to have arrived in Moreton Bay, bringingnearly a thousand souls. There were great complaints macre as tothe victualling of some of these ships, and the generalarrangement appears to have been defective. One of them, theAurora, coming into the bay by the South Passage, went on shoreon the sea-side of Moreton Island, where she became a totalwreck, but no lives were lost.

Dr. Lang was active in the promotion of his own scheme, andthe bill for its realisation, as I have said, was introduced intothe Council, and referred to a select committee, who reportedunanimously in its favour, and it passed through its subsequentstages by the assiduous exertions of the late Sir Charles Cowper.It had been deprived of the energetic advocacy of its originatorthrough a series of misfortunes which caused great excitement atthe time, and on one at least of those subjected to them,exercised a very melancholy and depressing influence. Two youngmen, one of whom was, I think, the sole surviving son of Dr.Lang, were placed in charge of the branch Bank of New South Walesat Ballarat, Victoria, and while so acting, it was discoveredthat a very large sum of money, at least £10,000, was missing.The two were immediately arrested. There was also a man namedBurchell, in whose care the bank had been left at various times,but who was not interfered with, and soon disappeared; acircumstance which ought to have directed suspicion towards him,especially as no trace of the missing money, in connection withthe accused, was ever found. The prosecution, however, waspressed on with a haste and severity that gave to it a characterof unnecessary vindictiveness, and was strongly commented upon inthe journals of the time; while Dr. Lang, never very reticent inthe expression of his feelings, was more than usually outspokenin defence of his son. Ultimately, both the young men were foundguilty—after a trial which seems to have provoked no smallangry and hostile comment—and sentenced to a long term ofimprisonment with hard labour. The exasperated father, for somebitter observations on the conduct of the case, was tried beforethe Supreme Court, at Melbourne, and acquitted. Subsequently, Dr.Lang was prosecuted by Mr. Stewart, the manager of the Bank ofNew South Wales in Sydney, for libel, arising from a like cause,and sentenced by the Chief Justice, Sir Alfred Stephen, in anaddress savouring far more of the animosity of an offendedopponent than the dignified impartiality of a judge, to sixmonths' imprisonment—a sentence which, under all thecircumstances, caused no small surprise and censure. Petitionssoon flowed in to the Governor for a remission, but Sir WilliamDenison was one of those whose righteous anger against an offencewas in no way diminished by the fact, that the criminal was alsoan offender against himself, and he was proof against everyappeal. The doctor offered to resign his seat in the Council asone of the representatives of this district, but hisconstituents, so far from accepting his resignation, were urgentin remonstrances in his favour. Nor was the general sympathy withhim decreased by the unexpected discovery of the real plundererof the bank in the man Burchell, before referred to. A chain ofirrefragable proofs, originating in a chance visit of awell-known Melbourne merchant and auctioneer to the West ofIreland, and confirmed by one of the fellow passengers ofBurchell on his voyage home, established his guilt, and theinnocence of the two young men, who were shortly afterwardsreleased. In no place was this result hailed with more pleasurethan in the locality of their presumed crime, in which I amaware—and I speak from personal knowledge—not one ina thousand ever considered them guilty. I do not read that anyspecies of compensation was ever tendered to either father or sonfor the sufferings to both, which a more careful and patientinvestigation at the first trial, and less haste to secure aconviction, would probably have prevented.

These troubles, however, never lessened Dr. Lang's ardent zealin the cause of immigration; and it was in the midst of hisarrangements for the full organisation of the new company, thathe was called to Melbourne, by the intelligence of the strangediscovery, which ultimately led to the establishment of his son'sinnocence. He was not, however, to remain without a competitor.Sir William Denison submitted a minute to the Executive Council,embodying his own views. His scheme referred only to theintroduction of labour, providing for the importation byemployers in the colony of what they might require on a priorpayment of a sum equal to about one-fifth of the expense of thepassage, the labourers to be sent being selected by eitherfriends of the importer, or Government agents appointed for thepurpose. His Executive Council were not quite as receptive as hewas complacent; they would only recommend that the scheme shouldbe submitted to the Legislature as an experiment, and that theImmigration Agent should be directed to report upon it. Hisreport, which was careful and guarded, together with theExecutive minute, were sent to the Legislative Council, andbecame embodied in that limbo of suggestions, the annual volumeof Parliamentary papers.

The ecclesiastical circles of the district were disturbed thisyear in the two leading denominations in the colony. The firstinterruption to its ordinary peace occurred in Ipswich, whencertain men, Roman Catholics, were brought up on the charge ofrefusing to work on a given day—the day on which the Feastof the Epiphany fell. The answer was, that by the doctrine anddiscipline of the Roman Catholic Church, that day was a religiousholiday on which no servile work might be done. The course of thebench, before which the case was tried, was arbitrary andirregular. They insulted the solicitor—Mr.Macalister—employed by the men; told him before thecomplainants' evidence had been half heard, that their minds weremade up; treated what was at most a condonable breach of contractas a criminal offence, and sentenced the men to a fine of 10s.each, or seven days' confinement in the cells. The provocationgiven by their observations, brought the clergy into the field,and a very acrimonious controversy on the civil and religiousrights involved, raged for some time, greatly to the advantage ofthe newspapers, through their advertising columns, but less tothat of theological information or social peace. I refer to thecase simply as an instance of the arbitrary tendencies ofmagisterial courts in those clays. The relative positions ofmagistrates and counsel are somewhat altered at the presenttime.

In the Anglican Church, a dispute arose among its own members,which, in its nature, illustrates the changes in opinion whichtime silently works on such points. The then clergyman of St.John's, the Rev. Mr. Irwin, early in the year, introduced thepractice of what is called the offertory into the morningservice. To this certain of the attendants there objected, and ina meeting—reported as of twenty-fivepersons—stigmatised the offertory as an "unseemlyobservance:" a reflection upon the prayer book itself, in whichit appears as a part of the service. Whether the peculiarpractice might or might not be regarded as unseemly, thewrangling which took place was certainly not undeserving of theepithet. The bishop and incumbent were firm; the custom tookroot; and I believe, that in every Anglican Church in thiscolony, the offertory has become the rule, while in most thepayment for seats is exceptional. While the controversy was goingon, a new Independent Chapel was opened at Ipswich, when it wasannounced that the congregation "had adopted the plan of makingall the sittings free, leaving it to each to contribute as Godhad prospered him." Thus do extremes meet.

In August of this year, the first steps towards theestablishment of a Baptist congregation were taken, it beingunderstood that the Rev. C. Smith, of Parramatta, in New SouthWales, would probably become its pastor; and in October I noticethe acceptance of the tender of Messrs. Jeays and Thompson, forthe then new Wesleyan Church in Albert Street, for the sum of£1,650; while £1,310 had been paid towards the erection of aRoman Catholic chapel at Ipswich. In all this there was activity,although at times the zeal might be greater than thediscretion.

But if I am to judge by the newspapers, the anxieties andinterests of the residents were not confined to mattersimmediately affecting themselves. The Crimean War was then at itsheight, and the journals are not only full of the details of thatvarying contest, and the disasters and mismanagement which, atone period existed, or were supposed to exist, in its conduct,but the criticisms were as keen, the regrets as pungentlyexpressed, and the successes as enthusiastically applauded asthey could have been in England itself. And when the RoyalLetter, recommending to her subjects the sufferings and heroismsof her soldiers as a just cause for subscriptions towards therelief of their widows and orphans, was read in the colonies, theresponse of these districts was warm and free. The duty of thecolonists to subscribe, was insisted upon in language arisingabove the usual newspaper level.

"All the events of this campaign," said theCourier, "are such as to inspire admiration and sympathy,and his heart must be cold indeed, and hopelessly estranged fromhis nation, who would not, to the utmost of his ability, aid thehapless beings who have been left widows or orphans by theravages of disease, or the desperate resistance of a fierce andwarlike enemy, against whom our seamen and troops directed theirarms at the command of their country. In no part of Her Majesty'sdominions are her subjects exempt from this obligation. Thesecurity which has been given to commerce and trade throughoutthe British territories by the terror of the British name, andthe adherence of our gallant allies, demands the gratitude of theAustralian colonist no less than that of the British merchant. Werejoice, therefore, to find that Brisbane is no longer to be leftbehind in the race of patriotic emulation."

A meeting was summoned at Brisbane, and immediately followedby others at Ipswich, Warwick, Drayton, and other portions of thenorthern districts, exclusive of the Clarence and Richmond, whencommittees, who were working ones in the true sense of the term,were formed. The news that Mr. Cooper, of Sydney (now Sir DanielCooper), had headed the list there by a contribution of £1,000,should have been inspiritive of emulation, and was followed hereby one from the late Mr. W. Butler Tooth, of £100. In all, notincluding sums paid in Sydney by squatters holding runs in thesedistricts, £2,570 14s. 4d. were contributed from the districtsimmediately connected with Moreton Bay and Wide Bay, in 1855.Just at the close of the year, the public enthusiasm reached itsheight at the news of the fall of Sebastopol.

"TheBoomerang steamed up to Brisbane thisafternoon (December 15) gaily decorated with flags, and havingthe glorious ensign of old England flying over the Russian flagat the peak. The repeated firing of cannon as the welcome steamercame up the river, the cheers of the crew and passengers, and theenlivening strains of a brass band on board, playing martial andpatriotic airs, prepared the inhabitants, who had assembled ingreat numbers, for the glorious news of the fall of Sebastopol,which they received with hearty cheers."

Fortunately, there came no more such sanguinary victories toraise their ardour; fortunate for us, if in our own time we havenone such at once to welcome and` to mourn.

The blacks and the native police were, as usual, vexatioustopics. An enquiry into the management of the force, disclosedirregularities, which at one time, threatened its abolition; butthe influence brought to bear for its continuance were tooweighty for such a step to be seriously entertained, and Mr.Walker, the former Commandant, having been dismissed, Mr.Marshall was appointed in his stead. In a short time a sergeantand six troopers were sent to Brisbane to protect theinhabitants, and to act as a check upon the natives in theimmediate district, a force which was not, however, uniformlysuccessful in the attainment of the object proposed; and after afew months' stay, and just as the blacks were becoming moretroublesome, was withdrawn. In the Burnett District the nativeswaxed bold and attacked a camp of troopers, killing two andwounding three; and great discontent was both felt and expressedat the want of protection to the pioneers in the north and west,while a war of reprisals, which would necessarily be one ofextermination, seemed imminent. Two white men were murdered atWide Bay; two more were attacked with almost as lamentableresults, and stations were robbed and teams plundered, the NewSouth Wales authorities looking on with the serenity whichexemption from danger inspires, not forgetting to see carefullyto the assessment on stock, the alleged motive for which, was thepayment of a sufficient force to prevent such outrages. The Rev.W. Ridley, a missionary from the Aborigines Friends' Society, wasnot discouraged by all this from making a long journey to theinterior in his endeavours to Christianise the natives, though itmay be doubted whether ethnological science did not benefit moreby his exertions than aboriginal civilization.

In the general progress of the district, there was, as usual,more of suggestion for the future than positive advance in thepresent. Some slight dispute arose over the speech of Mr.Hodgson, at a farewell dinner given to him in January, previouslyto his departure for England. He was eloquent on the rights ofthe squatters, inferring from the Orders-in-Council, that theyhad acquired a sort of prescriptive permanency of tenure in thelands they held under lease—a notion advocated with greatpertinacity at the time in New South Wales and Victoria, althoughit had been fully controverted by the late Duke of Newcastle, inhis celebrated despatch of November 23, 1853. But he went stillfurther, and asserted the utter uselessness of the greater partof the country for anything else but pastoral purposes.

"Take, for instance," said he, "that immense tract ofcountry known as the Darling Downs, which feeds nearly onemillion of sheep, exclusive of cattle and horses—who wouldbe mad enough to attempt cultivation there?" "If it werepracticable, do you think that we would not one and all growwheat for our own consumption?"

"Time will not fail to arrive," said theCourier, inreply, "when the Darling Downs will become as famous for theiragricultural produce as their wool," and time has undoubtedlyproved which was the truer prophet of the two twenty-six yearsago. There was more excuse for Mr. Hodgson in 1855 than for Mr.Anthony Trollope's foolish dictum, "They can't grow wheat inQueensland." The Horticultural Society's exhibitions proved even,in the year of which I am writing, that fruit and vegetablescould be successfully grown on the Downs, and both the soil andclimate were more favourable to the cultivation of those cereals,which had flourished under less favourable conditions in thevicinity of Brisbane.

The Port Curtis settlement declined in popularity. The landsales fell off, and a sharp attack, made by Mr. Parkes, both onthe place and its cost, drew more attention to the settlementthan acquiescence in its utility. A select committee of theLegislative Council, appointed to inquire into the question,brought up a report which, on debate, was affirmed as to thefollowing resolutions:—

"That the appointment of a Government Resident atPort Curtis by Sir Charles Fitzroy, was an error, which hasalready involved the colony in a loss of several thousand poundswithout any determinable public benefit:

"That the appointment of a Police Magistrate to the town ofGladstone would be a sufficient provision for securing the endsof justice and the preservation of order at Port Curtis underpresent circumstances:

"That supposing this change was immediately effected, thecapabilities of the district would have an equal chance ofdevelopment, and the progress of the port would be in no respectretarded."

The Port Curtis establishment had, up to the date of thereport in 1855, cost £22,535. The land sales had realised£113,729, and there seemed little prospect of further increase ofpopulation; but with the report, I believe, the matter so farended. Some compensation was supposed to be in store for this, bythe setting apart of two village reserves on the road fromIpswich to Drayton—Alfred and Gatton—which remainedvillages—on the map—for some years afterwards.

The residents of Moreton Bay were not unmindful of its wants,although somewhat antagonistic as to their respective nature andexigency. The people of Brisbane began to talk about a bridgeacross the river, connecting the north and south sides. The firstnotion was to form a sort of pontoon bridge, sufficiently high toadmit of river craft passing under the platforms, and to float acompany for its construction. After about a month'sconsideration, a meeting was held, at which it was stated that acapital of £10,000 would be sufficient for the construction ofsuch a passage way, and a return of £1,000 a year might becalculated upon, on which the inevitable committee was appointed.The Governor was appealed to, when it appeared that hedisapproved of the bridge, and suggested a steam ferry. A week'sconsideration of this, allowed the enthusiasm to coolconsiderably, and the end of the year simply left a record of oneof those numerous commencements which marked the history ofenterprise in Moreton Bay.

However this apathy might be deplored, the people could unitein welcoming the arrival of Mr. Grundy, an engineering surveyor,employed by the Sydney Government to make the necessary survey ofthe river bar, in order to ascertain the practicability andprobable cost of deepening the channel. Sanguine anticipations ofthe advantages that would follow were indulged in. "The survey isto be commenced immediately, and when, aided by the practicalskill of His Excellency the Governor-General as an engineer, willset at rest, and, no doubt, favourably, a question of vastinterest to the district." It is necessary here to mention, inexplanation, that in reply to a memorial to Sir William Denison,respecting the sites of public buildings, he had intimated hisintention of visiting the district and deciding upon themhimself—a sort of interference with the responsibleexecutive, which he did not find so practicable as it no doubtseemed to him necessary. Towards the close of the year it wasannounced that other proposals than those suggested in Mr.Grundy's report, had been laid before the Governor, and that theconsideration of the whole matter would be deferred until he hadhad an opportunity of making a personal inspection of thelocality.

The Winter Circuit Court afforded fresh cause of discontentwith the people. It was officially appointed to be held on May21, but the Australasian Steam Navigation Company having detainedthe only steamer available, the Bench and the Bar did not arrivetill the 25th, and plaintiffs, defendants, jurors, and witnesseswere kept dancing attendance fruitlessly during the week. Theadvocates of separation found in this circumstance a new argumentin favour of independence. A case at Ipswich strengthened them intheir convictions. Mr. Gill, a storekeeper in that town, had beenconvicted before the local board, of using threatening languageto Mr. W. H. Gray, and sentenced to a fine of £5, with thealternative of three months' imprisonment. The languagecomplained of formed part of a wordy war in Mr. Gill's own shop,and not in any public place or thoroughfare. Mr. Gill appealed tothe Supreme Court in Sydney, when the conviction was quashed, buthe had his own costs to pay, a result which proved that, in somecases, immediate oppression is dearly got rid of by distantjustice; and the inference in favour of a local court wasirresistable. As to the Circuit Court itself, beyond theannoyance caused by its delay, there was nothing worth noticingabout it.

There was more room for congratulation in the establishedpracticability of direct shipment from Brisbane to London. TheGazehound—a vessel carrying about 600 tons ofcargo—was loaded at the Messrs. Raff's wharf, fitted andfound for sea, and successfully crossed the bar without, as itwas triumphantly said, the aid of a steamer. The port of MoretonBay had already found notice in the Liverpool and London shippinglists, and it began to be hoped, that to Brisbane itself, asimilar distinction would soon be accorded. The capabilities ofthe river—at one time scornfully stigmatised as aditch—were now not only admitted, but the claims of theBremer, at any rate, to the "head of navigation," as Ipswichbegan to be called, were put forward. This year may also bedistinguished as the first in which direct shipment from aBrisbane wharf to a British port, and in a full-rigged ship, wasproved to be practicable. The achievement drew fresh attention tothe defective arrangements for lighting and pilotage. Whether abuoy-boat, or light-ship, or a pilot were wanting, localknowledge and requirements were equally overlooked by the Sydneyauthorities. A pilot being required, applications were calledfor—and, in due time, notices were issued to the applicantsto attend at the Harbour Master's Office, in Sydney, on a givenday, the notices reaching Brisbane on the day fixed forattendance. The person ultimately appointed, was a comparativestranger, and knew nothing of the river channels, his chiefrecommendation being, apparently, that he had lost a ship in thebay. There was some occasion for the sarcastic localrecommendation, that, if ever a new iron lighthouse, said to havebeen ordered for Moreton Island, did arrive in Sydney, it shouldforthwith be appropriated there, and some old worn-out grate sentfrom Newcastle or Port Jackson instead. I do not know whetherthis principle was applied in all local appointments; but, Inotice, that this year the district first had the benefit of theservices of a resident clerk of works. About the same time, Dr.Kemball was appointed Immigration Agent, and the late Sir R. R.Mackenzie, Mr. Duncan, and Mr. T. Jones, a committee ofmanagement for the Botanical Gardens, of which Mr. Hill wasplaced in charge as superintendent. The committee may be presumedto have been laudably anxious for the preservation of theirtrust, for they locked the gates against the public on Sundays,at which the public were very reasonably discontented. A localcommittee was also appointed for the management of the SavingsBank; and although its operations were hindered, in consequenceof delay in the appointment of an accountant, it did not preventthe military ardour of the people from finding vent in theformation of a Brisbane rifle corps.

The sales of public lands, when held, met with the usualresponse of ready buyers. One return gives the proceeds, duringfifteen months, from April 1, 1854, to June 30, 1855, atBrisbane, at £25,347; at Ipswich, £14,355 18s. During the period,from July 31, 1854, to June 30, 1855—elevenmonths—the commissions paid to the officers managing thesales at the two places, were, to Captain Wickham, £1,156 8s.1d., and to Colonel Gray, £851 15s. 7d. Thus, the income of thethen Government Resident at Moreton Bay, was more than that ofthe Premier of Queensland now, and of the Police Magistrate atIpswich equal to it. These kinds of indirect official emolumentswere of the sort that—

"Do good by stealth, and blush tofind it fame."

A slight movement was made towards a petition for theincorporation of Brisbane, the lamentable condition of thestreets and roads rendering some measure of localself-preservation desirable, but beyond discussion, nothingappears to have been done to provide for a traffic which must nowhave been considerable—the annual tolls on the ferrieshaving sold for £300. In local industries, there was not muchattempted. Now and then I see a notice of new coal discoveries,but the hope of gold had died out; and, except in societymeetings of various kinds, there was little local activity. Inone respect, the year exhibited a novelty in the shape of thefirst really enjoyable public entertainment given in the colony.The celebrated violinist, Miska Hauser, visited the district,which rose, as it were, at the music he produced from hisinstrument, and went wild with delight at the unaccustomedstrains. Minor performances followed, but none obliterated therecollection of the effect produced by that exquisite player.Less pleasant is it to record, that Mr. Pettigrew's saw millswere burnt down on July 14, the fire being chronicled as thefirst serious one in Brisbane. Much sympathy was felt for theowner, and an immediate subscription entered into to help him intheir re-building. Later in the year, I find the erection of asimilar establishment near Ipswich, by Mr. Fleming, recorded;but, on the whole, local industries seem to have been confined intheir application to local requirements. In that view we mayregard the establishment of the first Ipswich newspaper—theNorth Australian—the first number of which wasissued on October 2 of this year. I have a vivid recollection ofthe pungency and bitterness of the articles it occasionallycontained some four years after this period; but such was thehold of the public press upon the public affections in thisdistrict, that I have not been able to find a single copy of thepaper itself prior to its removal from Ipswich to Brisbane.

There were some circumstances of especial interest to thosereaders of this history who may happen to be engaged in pastoralpursuits, which should make this year memorable to them. In thewool market a question unexpectedly arose, mooted by the buyers,with respect to the allowance of "draft," in addition to tare. Onthe London market a deduction of 1 lb. per cwt. had been alwaysmade in addition to 10 lbs. per bale for tare; in the Sydneymarket the 10 lbs. tare had been the only allowance. At a meetingof the buyers in Sydney, a resolution was carried, "that theLondon allowance of 1 lb. per cwt. be demanded on all woolspurchased at auction or otherwise, and also on actual tare, notless in all cases than 10 lbs. per bale." Mr. H. Mort stigmatisedthe London practice as iniquitous, and protested against theresolution; but, as he was the only dissentient, the resolutionwas carried, and ultimately, from the combination of the buyers,had to be submitted to. As the question at issue in 1855, hasbeen recently one of acrimonious dispute between the producersand brokers in London, I thought its origin in the New SouthWales market worth recording. Another circumstance, whichoccurred here, led to an alteration in the law relating todiseases in sheep. Early in the year, Mr. Tamm, a well-knownimporter of merino sheep, had landed a number of rams ofconsiderable value, which he intended to sell to the stock ownersof the district, and while absent on that business, the diseasecalled scab, broke out amongst them. The whole were, under thethen existing law, destroyed, and the only compensation availablefor him when he returned, was the sum of four shillings persheep, each of which were worth from twenty to thirty pounds.This was felt as a great injustice, and likely to be a hindrancein the way of improvement. A clause in the new Act, therefore,provided for such cases. Imported animals were to be inspected,and if supposed to be diseased, were to be shorn and dressed, andnot to be removed from the place when landed until reported to becured. Many alterations have since been made in the details ofthe law, but this was the first discriminating legislation on thesubject.

At the close of the year, the old plan of publishing thereturns of exports, so far as they were available, was resumed,but, it is to be regretted, only for its last quarter. Thishowever, will be enough to show the increase in the trade of thenorthern ports. The totals stood as follows:—

The export from Brisbane alone, for the last quarter of 1855,was about equal to the whole yearly trade of the northerndistricts six years before, a fact not to be forgotten hereafter;but its character remained the same—pastoral produce,principally—and I find no mention of cotton. The tonnage ofshipping inwards, to Moreton Bay, was 9,237 tons.

To complete the year's history, I have only now to refer towhat may be called the initiation of Mr. Gregory's firstexploratory expedition. Flying rumours had been heard of tracksof Leichhardt, though none had been found to possess anysubstantial foundation; but his friends seem to have hoped thatwere another expedition sent to the north, something mightpossibly be found of his route had he survived, far beyond thepoint reached by Mr. Hely. The discovery of country on thenorth-west coast and interior that might be available forconnecting the colonies of Western Australia and South Australiawith our own coast line and settlements, seems to have been theleading idea in the mind of Sir William Denison, to whomsentimentality of any kind was unknown, and who probably thoughtthat Leichhardt had been lost long enough to leave his fate nolonger a matter of uncertainty. When the expedition wasdetermined on, Mr. A. C. Gregory, afterwards, and for many years,Surveyor-General of this colony, and at that time known as asuccessful traveller and explorer in Western Australia, wasappointed to take command of it. It was proposed to complete theequipment of the party at Moreton Bay, whence the necessaryvessels were to sail for the mouth of the Victoria river, on thenorth-west coast of Australia, and then disembark on theirperilous voyage. Mr. H. Gregory, a brother of the leader, arrivedin Brisbane in April, for the purchase of horses, and to makeother necessary arrangements, and in July the necessary officialinstructions were handed to Mr. Gregory himself. These directedhim, after disembarkation, to penetrate inland in a southerlydirection, by such a course as might seem most advisable, inorder to obtain as extensive a knowledge of the north-westinterior as was possible, taking note of the geographicalfeatures, the habits of the natives, and generally of suchnatural characteristics of the country and its inhabitants asmight be turned to future advantage. If a navigable river,debouching on the north-west coast, were found, its outlet was tobe examined, and the facilities presented by it for navigationascertained. In the next place, a connection was, if practicable;to be established with the former route of Sir Thomas Mitchell onthe Victoria river; or, if that were found impossible, Mr.Gregory was directed to attempt the discovery of a more directline than that of Leichhardt's to the eastward, so as to connectthe settlements on the east coast with the Gulf ofCarpentaria—meeting one of the vessels at any point ofrendezvous he might fix upon. Not one reference to Leichhardt'spossible fate, or to its ascertainment, occurs in theinstructions; and the general ones are of the usual nature.

The arrangements being complete, theMonarch andTomTough left Sydney on July 18, and anchored in the bay on the23rd; and on August 12, having got all the equipment and storeson board, they sailed for the north. As its main interest belongsto the following year, I defer the complete history of theexpedition to the proper place in the following chapter. I saycomplete, because Mr. Gregory has, with great kindness, placedhis journal at my disposal for use in the compilation of thisnarrative.*

[* This gentleman—not one of the leastabused in this colony—has had the honor of C.M.G. conferredupon him for his geographical explorations and services toscience generally. Thus, a prophet has honour, etc.—but thequotation is trite.]

{Page 189}

CHAPTER XI.

1856.

Initiation of ParliamentaryGovernment in New South Wales—First Responsible Ministry inAustralia—Ministerial Changes—The SeparationMovement—Sir William Denison's Adverse Report—Mr.Labouchere and Mr. Hodgson—Mr. Darvall's IntemperateLanguage—Imperial Determination in favour ofSeparation—Attempt in New South Wales to retain theClarence and Richmond River Districts—Mr. E. DeasThompson's Recantation—Industrial Progress—HarbourImprovement—Captain Towns and Decency of Burial—A. C.Gregory's First Expedition.

The initiation of electiveParliamentary Government was the first public business of theyear; the elections to the new Legislative Assembly requiredimmediate attention, and the people of the Moreton Bay districtwere not slow in preparing for the exercise of their privilege.For the Stanley boroughs Mr. H. Buckley was first requested tostand, but a technicality arising from his having sat in theRevision Court for that electorate, induced him to withdraw, andto contest the seat for the Stanley county instead, where hefound an opponent in Mr. W. M. Dorsey. For the boroughs, whichreturned two members, Mr. Richardson, the former member, Mr. F.A. Forbes, Mr. A. Macalister, and Mr. T. Holt, a Sydney Merchantand capitalist, were candidates. Mr. Gordon Sandeman wassolicited to accept the suffrages of the Burnett, Wide Bay, andMaranoa. Mr. Clark Irving and Mr. Colin Mackenzie stood for theClarence and Darling Downs. There was no variety of opinionexpressed as to the question of separation or of convictism; buton the other subjects on which differences might exist, therewere several shades apparent, and some little equivocationemployed. The programme of Messrs. Richardson and Forbes might bedescribed as ultra-radical on the questions of education,State-aid to religion, the constitution of the LegislativeCouncil, the suffrage, the ballot, and the duration ofParliament. Mr. Macalister was what would now be considered as atolerably well pronounced conservative. He objected to a nomineeCouncil, and to the two-thirds clause restrictive of alterationsin the Constitution; he was urgent upon the necessity for a cheapsystem of tramroads, to take the place of common roads; headvocated selling the public lands by auction, but was in favourof a reduction of the upset price, observing that the generalquestion in its various relations "must be met in a spirit ofequity, and while doing no damage to any special interest, bemade to advance the general interest of thecolony"—language vague enough to avoid criticism and leaveaction free. The national system of education he regarded as tobe applied to "remote and very scattered districts of thecolony," adding, "but as I am strong in the belief that educationought always to have a religious foundation, I should, where suchis practicable, be favourable to the establishment ofdenominational schools." And on the great question of State-aidto religion, he expressed a decided opinion that the Legislatureof a country may offer voluntary contributions for religiouspurposes equally with individuals, and [I] "have therefore yet tobe convinced of the propriety of withdrawing the support nowgiven to ministers of religion." It is curious and notuninstructive to trace the political beginnings of men, who in alengthened political career, have exercised a leading influenceon the course of public events, and in that view I have thoughtthese early political utterances of Mr. Macalister worthrecording. Mr. Sandeman, in reply to the requisition sent him,pointed with some pride to the fact that in the district he wasasked to represent, he "was the earliest settler," and he dealtnaturally with topics upon which his neighbours and possibleconstituents were most immediately interested:—themanagement of the native police, the local administration ofjustice, and the fair distribution of the revenue in theimprovement of roads and bridges. He objected to the purelynominee element in the Legislative Council, for which defect hehoped some remedy might be found in the Constitution Act itself.Mr. Holt was vehemently protesting in a profusion of italics andcapital letters. On local wants he would be guided by localwishes; on education he expressed similar opinions to those putforth by Mr. Macalister; and, regarding "prudent habits" as partof public education, put in a word for the Australian MutualProvident Society, of which he claimed to be the founder. Headvocated the resumption of leased waste lands on compensation tothe lessee; an elective Upper House, because the majority of thepeople were opposed to nomineeism; and the repeal of thetwo-thirds clause. I should say that there was a good deal ofvivacity about Mr. Holt's candidature on the part of thecandidate and his supporters.

The election for the boroughs was carried on with no smallacerbity and soon resolved itself into a question of Brisbaneagainst Ipswich. When the poll closed it was found, that Mr. Holtand Mr. Richardson were returned by majorities of two to one overtheir competitors, Brisbane almost to a man polling for them, andIpswich for their opponents. In the county, Mr. Buckley polled305 to Mr. Dorsey's 100, Mr. Sandeman was returned withoutopposition, and Mr. Clarke Irving, mainly through his influencein the Clarence and New England districts, defeated Mr. JohnMackenzie. Mr. Macalister, in rather an angry address, attributedhis defeat to the treachery and tergiversation of his supposedBrisbane supporters.

Before the elections Mr. E. Deas Thompson had returned fromEngland, which he had visited on leave, and to the duties of hisoffice as Colonial Secretary, it being understood that both heand his colleagues held office only until there was anopportunity of selecting a Ministry from the new Parliament. Indue time the Legislative Council was constituted, the threejudges of the Supreme Court being amongst the members, and theChief Justice the President; the roll of elected memberscompleted; a new Ministry formed; and the great game, of what Ican scarcely regard as other than political see-saw, began. Thefirst Ministry was—Mr. S. A. Donaldson, Premier; Mr.MacArthur, Colonial Treasurer; Mr. W. M. Manning,Attorney-General: Mr. Darvall, Solicitor-General; and Mr.Nicholls, Auditor-General—a combination not very likely tobe favourable to the claims or interests of Moreton Bay. The bulkof the old leading officials found a dignified retirement on thecushions of the Legislative Council.

Prior to the opening of the new Parliament, and on May 7, ameeting was summoned at his residence by Mr. D. Cooper, toconsider the course to be pursued by what were by implication tobe considered as independent members of the Assembly, and afterseven hours' consultation they seem to have arrived at adeterminate course. On the 22nd the House met formally, when Mr.Cooper was elected Speaker by a majority of one over Mr. Parker,the Ministerial candidate. The next day the Governor openedParliament in state, much to the admiration, and somewhat to theamusement, of spectators unaccustomed to such a ceremony. On theusual address in reply to his speech being moved, it was met byan amendment, affirming that the former Executive were notentitled to their pensions under the Constitution Act, untilrelieved from office by Parliamentary action, and that theassumption of the position of responsible Ministers by themembers of the new cabinet was premature and unconstitutional. Onthese questions the Ministry obtained substantial majorities. Mr.Macarthur almost immediately resigned the Colonial Treasurership,which was taken by Mr. Holt. Dr. Lang forthwith addressed aletter to the electors of the Stanley boroughs, warning them thatif separation in any form were to meet with the slightest supportfrom a cabinet, which he stigmatised as a "repetition of the oldsham under E. Deas Thomson & Co.," it would only be oncondition of retaining for New South Wales the Clarence andRichmond River districts. This warning, however well foundedsubsequent events proved it to be, fell on deaf ears, and Mr.Holt was re-elected on June 23, without opposition, to a shortand troubled ministerial career. On August 12 a motion by Mr.Forster, condemnatory of the presence of the judges in theLegislative Council, was carried against the Ministry by theSpeaker's casting vote. On the 14th Mr. Donaldson moved that thevote be rescinded, but was defeated by a majority of one.Subsequent divisions on leading questions leaving the Ministry inscarcely any better position, they resigned, and were succeededby one of which Mr. Cowper was Premier, having Messrs. Campbell,Murray, Martin, and Mr. A. J. P. Lutwyche (the late Mr. JusticeLutwyche) for his colleagues. No sooner had the new Ministry beenre-elected, than they were met by a vote of want of confidence,which was carried on September 24, by a vote of 26 to 24. On thisthey resigned, when a third cabinet was formed—the third infour months—Mr. Parker being Premier, with Mr. Donaldson asTreasurer, Mr. Hay as Auditor, Mr. Murray as Attorney-General,and Mr. Darvall as Solicitor-General; and with this change theend of the year found the Parliament apparently acquiescent, ifnot satisfied. In every point of view the new Ministry might beconsidered as inimical to the separation of the northerndistricts from the parent colony.

Indeed the year was one of continuous excitement on thesubject. The reference of the matter to Sir William Denison bythe home Government excited some uneasiness, and a public meetingwas held on January 22, at which a fresh petition to theQueen—drawn with great ability by Dr. Lang—wasadopted, in which the resources of the district were set forth atsome length, and the neglect which it had suffered from wasenlarged upon in strong but not unjustifiable terms. It allegedthat the export from the northern districts was one-eighth of thetotal of that of New South Wales; that their area was equal tothe united areas of eight of the minor British colonies, all ofwhich enjoyed independent government; and that neither SouthAustralia or Van Diemen's Land was equal to Moreton Bay when theyhad that right conceded to them. It is to be regretted that thelanguage used at the meeting towards Mr. E. Deas Thomson wasill-timed and discourteous. Mr. Thomson, as it afterwardsappeared, had, so far from opposing separation when in London,given his assistance to the then Secretary of State for theColonies, Mr. Labouchere, in the determination of theboundary-line between New South Wales and the new colony, whichwas fixed at the 30th parallel, so as to include the Richmond andClarence River districts. Undoubtedly Dr. Lang rendered verygreat service in the cause of separation; and it is therefore themore to be lamented that anything should have resulted, evenindirectly, from his vehemence to mar the success already sure ofattainment, or interfere with the completeness of the detailedarrangements.

There was greater reason for regret, since it soon appearedthat the opponents of separation were both active and insidious.The jealousy felt towards Brisbane by the outlying districts, andthe rival claims of Ipswich to be the future capital, weresedulously fostered by those who desired nothing better than tosee such a disunion between the inhabitants as would give them,at least, some technical hold against the creation of a newcolony. Some of the inhabitants of Grafton, on the ClarenceRiver, were induced to meet and petition against the separationof that district from New South Wales, and this was followed upby another meeting at Tenterfield, in New England. There was noquestion as to by whom, or why, these meetings were got up. Onething to be regretted is that the people of the more populousdistricts of the then North were not more active and conciliatoryto their southern neighbours in securing the goodwill of thosewhose co-operation was so essential to the common good.

The necessity for this should have been more apparent, when inJune the Government Resident informed the memorialists to apreceding petition that Her Majesty's Government had resolved,for the present, to "abstain from any measures for the purpose ofseparation," this resolution having been formed presumedly on theGovernor-General's report. The presumption became assurance in afew weeks, when a letter was published which by the pertinacityof Mr. M. H. Marsh, had been obtained in England from theColonial Office, and was forwarded by him to Mr. Gordon Sandeman.In this letter he was informed that "in a despatch which has beenlately received from the Governor on this subject, he reportsagainst the plan of separation, and that, consequently, HerMajesty's Government do not at present intend to take any furtherproceedings on the subject." To still further cheer the hearts ofthe separationists, a letter was addressed by Mr. Clark Irving tothe electors of the Clarence and Darling Downs district, forwhich he was member, in which he, in guarded language, but withunmistakeable intention, declared that the Clarence and RichmondRiver districts would suffer injury were they included within theboundary of the proposed new colony; that those districts werepolitically and commercially connected with Sydney; and that theywould be adequately protected as to both interests in the newParliament. Mr. Clark Irving was a great man, according to thatkind of great men, in his day, and as is their wont, went astrayof the public welfare, when his immediate purposes wereconcerned. He forgot that by a new postal route the Richmond wasbrought within 150 miles of Brisbane by land, while it was 600miles from Sydney, and his predictions, as to the increasingprosperity of the country he sought to exclude from independence,have been signally falsified by events. I hardly think that theadvance of the Clarence and Richmond districts since 1856 can beconsidered as worth recording beside that of Moreton Bay.

Close upon the publication of this letter came that of thecorrespondence between Sir William Denison and the HomeGovernment on the subject, when the wrath of the people rose tofever height; and with every disposition to lean lightly upon thememory of an able man no longer alive to defend himself, I amcompelled to think justly. The statement of facts, meagre as itwas in his report, was, when definite, incorrect, and whenaccurate, incomplete. Questions of import or export trade he didnot touch. The actual or possible customs revenue he did not evenallude to. The freehold interest on the amount of capital sunk inbuildings and trade he passed by. He saw only that four hundredand twenty squatters held two millions five hundred thousandacres of land at a rent of £13,608 per annum, and he threw doubtupon even the lasting character of that settlement, because ofthe small expenditure they had made in permanent improvements. Itnever seems to have occurred to him that the nature of thepursuit did not require them, but that so long as a singlestation, and that not of the largest, would command a price of£60,000 in the market, the profitable character of the avocationitself must enforce permanency of occupation without respect tothe personality of the occupant. He might as well have saidbecause by reason of death there is a succession of tenants atenancy is valueless. But I regret to have to say that he was asdisingenuous as illogical; and, that I may not be supposed towrite what is unfair, I quote his own language, less in the wayof censure than of warning, and to show my fellow colonists notonly what their predecessors had to fight against, but how easilyand justly the discrimination of English statesmen detected themisstatements and sophistry which had been presented for theiracceptance, and how, so far as their knowledge enabled them, theydealt fairly and uprightly throughout this transaction.

"I have looked," he says, in his despatch of October18, 1855, "over the former correspondence with relation to theproposed scheme of separation, by which it would appear that theexpediency of such a step was first advocated by the inhabitantsof the Northern districts, principally with the view of inducingthe Government to send a supply of convict labour to that part ofthe colony. It is true that this was objected to by a portion ofthe population, but still it formed the main feature in most ofthe petitions. I am, therefore, I think, justified in expressingmy belief that the large squatters were the persons whostinterests were most consulted in the matter. In the laterpetitions the question of the continuance of transportation hasbeen omitted, the policy of the Home Government having been tooclearly explained as regard: it to allow of any hope thatconvicts would be sent to Moreton Bay, ever were it made aseparate colony; but the persons who petition are the same, withthe addition, perhaps, of the trading population of the town ofBrisbane and Ipswich. To those the prospect of a large localexpenditure is probably the inducement which has caused them toapply for separation from New South Wales."

Anyone who has read this history so far withattention—and I have spared no trouble in ascertaining thetruth of the facts stated in it, and have ample proof of theircorrectness in the records and documents of the time—willjudge for himself of the accuracy of this statement—onereflecting discredit equally upon the judgment and truthfulnessof the writer.

That nothing should be wanting to show how local jealousiescould interfere to thwart the general good, the petition for aseparate member for the town of Ipswich was now presented to theLegislature. It did not rest upon the actual claims of the townitself to distinct representation, which were in themselvessufficient, but it declared that the interests of Ipswich andBrisbane were "altogether antagonistic;" it urged with greatvehemence of language, the superior claims of the petitioners tohave the public buildings of the colony erected in their owntown, and asserted "a strong probability that the Ipswich roll ofelectors will soon outnumber that of Brisbane," and on thosegroundi enforced the desirability of separating the electorate.In the prayer of their petition few would have refused to join,but in connection with the argument it illustrated the famousdescription by Lord Mansfield of popular conclusions which,whenever they were right in themselves, he said, were seldom sofrom a right reason. And the time at which it was presented wassingularly inopportune. The people of Ipswich were, in fact,playing into the hands of the opponents of separation.

Dr. Lang was active and impetuous as if the days of his youthhad returned. He left Sydney and arrived at Grafton on August 22,and two days after met the people there, when he answered all Mr.Clark Irving's arguments promptly and lucidly, and apparently tothe satisfaction of his auditors. Then, as if to demonstrate thefacility of communication between the Clarence and Richmond andMoreton Bay, he travelled overland to Brisbane, and, on September11, delivered one of the best of his many lectures, in the Schoolof Arts there; and I have no doubt that the exceedingly vigorousand yet temperate reply of the Moreton Bay Separation Committeeto the report of Sir William Denison owed very much of its pithto his pen.

While these active steps were taken, rumours arose that SirWilliam Denison's report had not had quite the weight which, fromits curt and dogmatic tone, he seems to have expected. Mr. ArthurHodgson had then recently arrived in Sydney from a lengthenedvisit to England, and in a letter, addressed to the inhabitantsof the Northern districts, narrating the particulars of twointerviews with Mr. Labouchere, gave them fresh courage, and muchannoyance to those who thought the opinion of theGovernor-General decisive upon the separation question. With thefirst interview Mr. Hodgson was not quite satisfied, and with theimpulsiveness which seems part of his nature, he asked a secondfor himself and the colonists, then in London, acting with him.That interview, he said,

"was entirely satisfactory. . . Mr. Labouchere, hadhad time to consider the subject well, and I know that he workedup the question and consulted with other gentlemen as to thepropriety of our demands. . . He gave us to understand that ourdemands were just—our arguments good, and although hedeclined giving us there and then a distinct pledge—we leftDowning-street with an impression that separation would takeplace almost immediately."

We may forgive Mr. Hodgson much vacillation and inconsistency,and even his heresy on the wheat question, for the good servicehe did the colony on that occasion on the mainquestion—tempered as it was by volunteer advice upon thefuture constitution which, I have no doubt, the Secretary ofState listened to with patience, and with equal equanimityforgot. As to the probable boundary, Mr. Labouchere suggestedthat, were the Home Government to settle it, it would relieve theGovernment and Parliament of New South Wales of an invidiousduty. It is a pity that that suggestion was not acted upon.

How bitter the feeling had grown in New South Wales againstseparation we may collect from the speeches of leading men, andthe tone of the leading press there. As one, though by no means asolitary instance, I quote from the speech of Mr. Darvall, theSolicitor-General, at his nomination for the North Riding ofCumberland. In strong terms he denounced what he termed theamputation of the richest province of the colony.

"Millions of acres of some of the finest Land in ourcolony have thus been torn from us, while we have incurred allthe expense of finding, surveying, settling, and rendering themvaluable. . . To my mind, never was there so weak, somischievous, so insane a measure as this proposed separation.Then again, look at the expense that must be incurred from thenecessary Government staff that will be required. At least£100,000 a year will be required to cover this; and this willentail a burden of taxation of at least £5 per head on the wholepopulation. And all this at a time when the revenue of MoretonBay, at the present time, is hardly sufficient to support acorporal's guard in a watch-house. It appears to me a most wickedand most mischievous act to cut off from us a thriving settlementthat has cost us so much to bring to its present state ofprosperity."

When the violence of partizanship could carry an experiencedlawyer and politician to such lengths, we may well imagine whatmen of less character and caution might write or say. Yet, at thecensus of 1855, the population of the northerndistricts—exclusive of that of New England included withinthe proposed boundary—was 19,321, and a fair estimate ofthe revenue derivable from duties, on their consumption and otherordinary sources, and from land sales and assessments, was about£140,000. The assessment alone was close upon £15,000; surelymore than adequate to the support of many corporals' guards.

In the midst of all this wrangling came a despatch front Mr.Labouchere which finally settled the question of separationitself, and left only details to be arranged. The importance ofthis State paper in the history of the colony is sufficient tojustify my quoting the most weighty paragraphs; more especiallyas two leading questions discussed in them—the southernboundary, and the arrangement of the public debt—cannoteven now be regarded as sufficiently determined to be withoutinterest to us.

"I have now," writes Mr. Labouchere, addressing theGovernor. General, "to inform you that Her Majesty's Governmenthave determined that the time has arrived when this separationwould be desirable. They have not failed to give their fullestattention to the arguments adduced by yourself as well as by SirCharles Fitzroy against this determination. But they feel thatthose arguments rest on premises which are every day more andmore set aside by the progress of events. And on the whole theybelieve that it is better to run the risk of forming into acolony a community as yet in some respects immature, but rapidlyadvancing to maturity, than of letting the partial difficultiesof separation and the ill-feeling, which the present state ofthings is calculated to engender, grow stronger from day to day.In addition to these views of their own they have been urged bythe strong and repeated representations of parties possessing theconfidence of the inhabitants of the northern districts and alsoby statements directly proceeding from what they believe to bethe majority of the inhabitants of the northern districts, . . .The following are the most important questions, as it occurs tome, which remain to be decided:—1. The boundary between thetwo future provinces: On this point I have had the valuableassistance of a memorandum drawn up by Mr. E. Deas Thomson, whenin England, as well as of the statements of gentlemen interestedin the northern provinces. With the materials thus before them,Her Majesty's Government will have no difficulty in fixing on aline which will run not far to the south of 30 S. latitude; butwill be accommodated to suit the natural features of the country.2. The future government of the separated portion:—Thenecessary powers for this purpose have been conferred on HerMajesty by the Act of Parliament enabling her to confirm the NewSouth Wales Bill, and I shall address you further on the subjecton another occasion. 3. The division of the debt of the provinceam in correspondence with the Law advisers of the Crown on thesubject of the legal method by which this division may beeffected. But, whatever their opinion on this point may be, therecan be no doubt that the basis of arrangement should be anequitable division according to the several contributions to therevenue of the two portions; and the benefit which theyrespectively derived or expected from the public services towhich the loans thus contracted were appropriated. On thissubject, especially, I am anxious to receive, as soon aspracticable, a report from yourself, with the advice of yourCouncil."

The publication of this despatch was received with theliveliest expressions of joy. So many flags never flaunted inBrisbane before. The day, however, was dark and lowering, andtowards noon there was a heavy storm of wind and rain. Dr. Langwas loud in his congratulations, although dissenting from anyboundary that might be fixed lower than the 30th parallel—adissent rather premature, and, as it subsequently proved,ineffectual. A public meeting was held in Brisbane on the 20th,when an address of gratitude to the Queen was adopted, and thanksvoted to the gentlemen who had exerted themselves in London, aswell as specially to Dr. Lang for his great and long continuedefforts to secure to the district the desired boon of separation.But all was not joy and gratitude. The disunion I have beforereferred to had borne fruit, and the warning of Dr. Lang againstMr. Holt had been abundantly justified. On November 3 Mr.Hargreaves, member for the Macleay and New England districts,brought forward a motion in the Legislative Assembly, which,while generally censuring the conduct of the Imperialauthorities, was principally condemnatory of the boundary linesuggested, and deprecated any settlement until the opinion of theinhabitants of the Clarence and Richmond and New Englanddistricts had been ascertained. In the course of the debate veryacrimonious language was employed towards the Imperialauthorities, and the proposed new colony. Mr. Holt, whileprofessing himself a separationist, objected to the boundary, andwas one of the thirty-five who voted in favour of Mr. Hargreaves'resolutions against a minority of four. At the meeting greatindignation was displayed at this conduct—most of thespeakers, however, assuming the question to be settled beyond allfear of change. In this they were, unfortunately both for the newcolony and for the districts sought to be excluded from it,altogether premature. They undervalued the force against them,and do not seem to have appreciated the pertinacity of SirWilliam Denison, or the skill and organisation which werecombined to secure the retention of the country in dispute to NewSouth Wales. As was natural, Mr. Holt's constituents met andcondemned his conduct, and a requisition was at once put incirculation calling upon him to resign. Mr. Holt, hearing ofthis, entered upon explanations in the Legislative Assembly, inwhich he employed language for which he was reprimanded by theSpeaker, and which in nowise increased his favour in the eyes ofhis constituents; for those explanations simply amounted tothis—that while he meant what he did say at the time of hiselection, he did not by any means say all that he meant. Mr.Hargreaves' resolutions being sent to the Legislative Council fortheir concurrence, Mr. E. Deas Thomson took occasion to expressregret at having given the advice he did to Mr. Labouchere, andvoted in their favour. The honourable gentleman had had manyyears' experience in the colony, and knew all the circumstancessurrounding the question well. Either he gave that advice on duedeliberation or he did not. If he did so, no circumstance hadoccurred since the time it was given to change the character ofthe facts upon which it was presumedly based, and there was novalid reason for the course he adopted. If he did not, heinsulted the Government, to whom the opinion was tendered, andthe colony in whose interests he was presumedly acting. In eithercase he had the melancholy satisfaction of setting a precedentfor that weak vacillation, so nearly akin to a worse fault ofwhich since that day there has been no lack of followers. Theresolutions were of course carried, and there, with the exceptionof some letters of Dr. Lang's, deprecatory of any alteration fromhis favourite 30th parallel, the matter for the presentrested.

The stream of immigration flowed rather slackly during theyear, and there was unfortunately a considerable migrationsouthward from the district. The direct arrivals from GreatBritain were 1.258, and of these some, despite the remonstrancesof the inhabitants, were transhipped to Sydney. About 350 Germanswere brought, of whom a portion was also forwarded to Sydney. TheMoreton Bay Land and Emigration Company assumed what may betermed a definitely passive shape; a board of directors beingformed, and a call of half-a-crown per share being made, but onlyfor the purpose of defraying the preliminary expenses incurred inpassing the Act. All further action, it was announced, would bedelayed until the result of an effort to be made in England toobtain the co-operation of capitalists there was seen.

The pastoral industry of the district continued to extend, buton other matters there was more talk than action. The cultivationof cotton, which had languished, began again to be discussed,especially after the prizes gained by Mr. Eldridge for hisexhibit at the Paris Industrial Exposition became known.Estimates were published from time to time showing theoreticprofits, but varying in return from thirty to fifty per cent. Mr.Eldridge utilised his practical experience in the matter byfurnishing one for the cultivation of 640 acres. The capitalinvested he fixed at £8,810, the annual expenditure at £4,085,the gross annual return at £8,250, but the selling price of theproduct he took at one shilling and sixpence per lb.—onewhich was thought by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce to bebelow that which could be readily obtained for cotton of equalquality to that submitted to them. A lecture on the subject,delivered by Mr. Wm. Brookes in August, was supposed likely toimpart a stimulus to the very little effort then making toforward the industry. News of a proposed company forming inSydney for the cultivation of cotton in Moreton Bay excited alittle curiosity, but it proved to be of intention only; althougha series of questions asked by Mr. T. S. Mort, of Sydney, pointedto a more business like effort than had yet been made. These wereplaced in Dr. Hobbs's hands for reply, and his answers werepractical and comprehensive, but what beneficial result followedI am unable to say. The late Mr. Panton made some experiments,but expressed an opinion that coolie labour would be required ifextensive cultivation were entered upon; an opinion which did notincrease either his popularity or that of the industry.Coal-mining was pursued in a sort of intermittent fashion, newpits being opened—always with promises of success; andwheat growing was still continued, between fifty and sixty acresbeing reported as under crop by several persons in the vicinityof Brisbane; but there does not seem to have been any systematicor combined effort at testing the suitability of the soil andclimate for the growth of cereals or for ascertaining the bestmethods of deriving a certain remuneration from it.

The exports for the first nine months of the year exhibited asteady increase. From Brisbane alone the values were calculatedat £301,392; but with the exception of a few tons of coal, thearticles were almost entirely confined to merely pastoralproducts. There were occasional spurts of rumour as to golddeposits, and isolated parties were fitted out, to returnsanguine in hope and empty in performance. Upon the whole theperiod was one of doubt and depression—not lessened by along and severe drought to which the district was this yearsubjected.

Some effort was made by the New South Wales Government toascertain what was really required for the improvement of theriver navigation. Mr. Grundy, the engineer employed, sent in tworeports, one on the obstructions between the towns of Brisbaneand Ipswich, the other on the works required between Brisbane andthe Bay. His report was not favourable to the navigation of theBrisbane by vessels of any tonnage beyond the barrier formed bywhat are called the Seventeen-mile Rocks. "It would be necessary,ere vessels arriving in Moreton Bay could proceed to Ipswich, todeepen almost the entire bed of the river" from that point to thejunction of the Bremer with it. With respect to the river belowBrisbane, he proposed to deepen a main channel through the flatsin it, and use the material thus obtained to fill up the minorones, so as to produce a greater current, and one strong enoughto keep that open. The bar at the mouth of the river, hesuggested, should be dredged, so as to continue the channelexisting up to it in a straight course through. The cost heestimated—employing one dredge—at £13,662, and thetime at eight years. The report did not pass without criticism,and, in truth, it added little or nothing to that of Mr.Debenham, to which I have before referred. As nothing practicalfollowed from it, it is needless to recapitulate the comment itprovoked. The energies of the then Government seem to have beenso exhausted by the effort made to obtain information that nostrength was left to utilise it when got.

The progress of improvement in other respects was gradual. Thedepression to which I have alluded was less apparent towards theend of the year than it had been in its earlier part, and strongarticles condemnatory of the banks for "putting on the screw,"were followed by others announcing the appearance of "blue sky"in the commercial atmosphere. But the lugubrious mixed with thecongratulatory. The want of some "suitable means of conveyingtheir dead to the place of interment" was bewailed by the localjournals, and it was gravely suggested that "a small hearse,drawn by one horse, would not involve any serious outlay." Thelate Captain Towns, then on a visit to Brisbane, seems to havebeen so deeply impressed with the want that he offered to head asubscription for the provision of the required accommodation with£20, I am unable to trace any response to this cheerfulinvitation. It is possible that the minds of the people ranrather upon the wants of the living than ceremonial for the dead,for, on March 8, a meeting was held, at which the grievances ofthe people were discussed and a committee appointed to bringunder the notice of the Government the necessity of proceedingwith the public works of the district, the gaol, the lighthouseat Moreton Bay, and two semaphore telegraph stations—butthere was as much grumbling at the common apathy of the people asat the treatment they received from their rulers. Whether theaction of the authorities was at all expedited by such procedureit is not easy to say, but tenders were at length accepted forthe construction of the lighthouse at Moreton Island, and theworks were commenced, not without some discontent that they werenot entrusted to the local contractor, which expanded into adesire that tenders for local works should be received anddecided upon by a local board, instead of being sent on toSydney. The sudden activity of Brisbane started Ipswich intolife, and the people in their turn petitioned the Government thatthe gaol and other public buildings should be erected there; inreply to which they were told that their request could not becomplied with, and on another application for a local immigrationdepôt they were similarly unsuccessful. The spirit of associationspread to the stockholders, who had been alarmed at theappearance of a disease called "catarrh" in the flocks on theClifton run, and who now formed a society for mutual protection.A common subscription was entered into, and the Northern DistrictMutual Protection Society was formed. Mr. Tooth agreed that thediseased sheep were at once to be killed and boiled down on therun—the cost of carrying the skins and tallow to theshipping port being borne by the new society, and thus peace wasrestored, protection provided, and the danger for the time gotrid of.

About this time, a survey for a line of railway to connect thecoast with the Darling Downs was talked of as to be provided foramongst similar undertakings for which a vote was asked; and themere proposal was the signal for further discord. It wascontended that the termination of the line at Ipswich would beadequate for every purpose, and that the facilities of watercarriage presented by the Bremer and Brisbane rivers were amplefor the accommodation of any traffic that could result from itsconstruction. That nothing should be wanting in support of thistheory, the residents of the Downs were moved, and, in publicmeeting at Drayton, adopted petitions, alike in language, to theGovernor-General, the Legislative Council, and the LegislativeAssembly, in which they asserted that to make a railway"beneficial and advantageous to the northern districts and theinterests thereof, it will be necessary to make the terminus ofsuch railway at the head of the navigation of the rivers Brisbaneand Bremer." It is unnecessary to detail arguments of which thecourse of events have since proved the fallacy; but it shows howfar local prejudice could cloak local ignorance when we find thecountry from Ipswich to the foot of the great dividing rangedescribed as "offering no engineering difficulty,"—the veryabrupt and jagged mountainous spurs of the Little Liverpoolrange, requiring a costly tunnel, intervening—while it wasgravely affirmed that, from an inland terminus, at the foot ofthe main range, "good roads could diverge in all directions;" thefact being that but one pass for ordinary traffic over the range,and that difficult and dangerous, has been found up to this datein a length of very many miles. All this was exceedingly pitiableand exceedingly mischievous.

There was some consolation for the well wishers of the newprovince in the real progress quietly, but effectually, made inother respects. The savings bank was found of great benefitthroughout the northern districts, and I find it recorded as aproof of the extent to which it was appreciated, that £300 wassent down by the Messrs. Royds, for deposit on account of theirmen employed at the Juandah station, in the Leichhardt. TheBotanic Gardens began to assume a grateful aspect, and their longcareer of usefulness was fairly started. The Ipswich library andreading room met with efficient support, and the Brisbane Schoolof Arts added to its books, and was enlivened by debates of theusual speculative kind. In a report of one upon the question, "Isit expedient to abolish capital punishment?" I find the names oftwo gentlemen who have since occupied prominent positions in ourlocal, political, and official world—those of Mr. CharlesLilley and Mr. T. P. Pugh. Was it indicative of their futurecareer that they were on that occasion—as in those times onmost occasions—in a majority? And amidst the signs ofprogress and coming prosperity with which theCouriercheered its readers at the close of the year, was the, at least,tolerable certainty that a branch of the Supreme Court, with aresident judge, would now soon be fixed at Moreton Bay, asindicated not only by the introduction of a Bill to carry outthat object, but by a sum of £4,861 being placed on the estimatesfor the next year on account of the expenses that would beincurred. In rather odd contrast to these increased facilitiesfor law, the value of forbearance and Christian love wasemphatically inculcated. Had the advice been literally adopted,the legal blessings might have been less felt, though possiblyquite as fully appreciated.

Not the least memorable event of the year was the successfulcompletion by Mr. Gregory of the exploration committed to hischarge. He returned to Brisbane on December 16, after an absenceof sixteen months, having performed the service enjoined uponhim, and bringing much valuable information as to the nature ofthe country traversed. It will be remembered that the twovessels, theMonarch and theTom Tough, leftMoreton Bay on August 12, 1855. On September 2, they were near toVernon Island, in Van Diemen's Gulf, on the northern coast, whentheMonarch grounded on a coral bank, and was not floateduntil the 10th. On the 16th Mr. Gregory landed at Blunder Bay, onthe mouth of the Victoria River, when he found the country unfitfor camping. Finding no improvement as he proceeded, he turnedback, and two days after joined theMonarch in TreacheryBay, when he learned that some of the horses had been landed. Onthe 22nd he formed the first camp at Providence Hill, anelevation on Point Pearce, on the north-east shore of theentrance to the Victoria. The stores, sheep, and horses being allremoved from theMonarch, that vessel sailed for Singaporeon the 24th, theTom Tough being directed to proceed upthe river as far as she could, that a camp might be establishedon a suitable site, and there the vessel was to await the landparty. After a reconnoitring expedition by Mr. Gregory toascertain the probably best route towards the supposed point ofrendezvous, the party started to examine the country on the eastbanks of the Victoria on September 28. Of the fifty horses takenfrom Moreton Bay, nine had died from various causes, and manywere so weak that they fell down, and had to be lifted up beforethey could feed. The sheep taken with the explorers on this tripwere abandoned the first day from like causes. On October 16 theysighted the Victoria River, about six miles below Kangaroo Point,and camping, met with a misfortune in the firing of the grass bythe carelessness of the cook. On October 20 they fell in with Mr.Elsey, the surgeon, one of those who had remained on board theTom Tough, and learned from him that the vessel hadgrounded on a ledge of rocks on a southern bank of the river, andsustained serious damage. Many of the stores had been destroyed,and of the sheep only fifty-four remained and in a miserablecondition. After much hard work the schooner was moved on October29, close to the bank and to the camp. In the course of theremovals and shiftings, more sheep were lost or compelled to beabandoned, until only twenty-six remained. The general weaknessof the animals and the necessity for providing shelter for thestores, which had to be removed from the damaged vessel, delayedthe explorers; but on November 24 Mr. Gregory, his brother Mr. H.Gregory, Dr. Müller, and Mr. Wilson left with seven horses andtwenty days' provisions to examine the country through which themain party would have to travel on the route to the interior.They continued their examination until December 6, when, havingermined the country sufficiently to enable an advance through awhole degree of latitude, they commenced their return, andreached their principal camp (lat. 15 degs. 34 mins. S., long.130 degs. 22 min. E.) on the 13th. Upon consideration, andfinding that owing to the nature of the vegetation, the wholeequipment would have to be carried on pack-horses, it wasdetermined that the exploring party should consist of nine,taking with them five months' provisions and necessaries; theremaining members of the expedition having full employment in therepair of the schooner and the care of the stores. The wetweather which now bcfel them impeded their preparations, and itwas not until January 3, 1856, that the adventurers could fairlystart. They were—Mr. A. C. Gregory, commander; Mr. H.Gregory, assistant-commander; Mr. T. Baines, artist; Dr. F.Müller—now the Baron Von Müller—botanist; Mr. T.Flood, collector, and four assistants; the geologist, Mr. J. S.Wilson; the surgeon, Mr. Elsey; and some others, remained at theprincipal camp on the Victoria River. For those who are curiouson such matters, I give a copy of Mr. Gregory's memorandum oftheir arrangements and equipment:—

"The exploring party has with it 27 pack-horses withpacksaddles; * 3 pack-horses with riding-saddles; 6 ridinghorses, or in all 36 horses. Flour, 1,470 lbs.; pork, 1,200 lbs.;rice, 200 lbs.; sago, 44 lbs.; sugar, 280 lbs.; tea, 36 lbs.;coffee, 28 lbs.; tobacco, 21 lbs.; soap, 51 lbs.—or in all,3,330 lbs. Instruments, clothing, tents, ammunition, horse-shoes,tools, &c., 800 lbs.; saddle-bags and packages, 400 lbs.;saddles, bridles, hobbles, &c., 900 lbs.—total, 5430lbs. The total weight of the equipment of the party was thusabout two and a-half tons, which, distributed on 30 horses, gavean average load of 180 lbs. each. Each person had a stated numberof horses in his special charge, and was responsible for theproper care of the loads and equipment, the saddles and loadsbeing all marked with corresponding numbers. A watch wasconstantly kept through the night, each person being on sentryfor two hours in regular rotation, except myself, as I had tomake astronomical observations at uncertain hours. The cook wason watch from 2 till 4 a.m., and having prepared breakfast,the party concluded this meal before daybreak, and thus themost valuable part of the day was not lost."

[* "The pack-saddles were made after a model byMr. Gregory, and are the best I have seen yet. Two boards oflight wood are connected by bows of iron 1.5-inch wide and ¼inchthick, with books inserted in either side for the pack-bags tohook on to. The straps for the breasting, breechings and girthswere screwed on to the boards; the crupper passed through a ringon the after bow; and a light pad—which could easily betaken out to be re-stuffed—was secured by small thongs,passed through holes in the ends of the boards. We had twogirths, which crossed each other under the horse. (In unloading,the neck-strap is unbuckled on the near side, also the breastingand girths; and the whole is drawn off behind.) The pack-bagswere made of one width of canvas, turned so as to have no seam onthe bottom; pear-shaped pieces were sewn in to form ends, andrope was stitched along the seams, having eyes above, by whichthe bag was hung upon the hooks. The flour-bags were made ofcanvas, of the usual width, with a round bottom stitched intothem. The mouth was sewn up when full, and an oiled bag, of thesame size, drawn over it. . . . Our waterproof-bags were ofleather, lined with waterproof cloth, just large enough to fillone of the canvas pack-bags. They had a brass neck, with a worminside, in which we screwed a plug of soft wool. Each pair ofbags was carefully balanced one against the other, that thehorses might not be unequally loaded."—Mr. Baines'Description in Dalton's" Cut of Travel."]

On January 22 they arrived at a point where advancedexploration seemed necessary; and after this had been made, adepôt camp was formed on the 29th, near to a hill called MountSanford, about latitude 17 deg. 30 sec. Then leaving Mr. Barnesand the men in charge, Mr. Gregory, his brother, Dr. Müller, andthe harness-maker, Charles Dean, taking eleven of the strongesthorses and a moderate supply of provisions, pushed into theunknown interior, continuing generally in a southerly direction,until February 10, when they were stopped by a sandy desertcountry. On this they turned in a north-easterly direction untilthe 15th, when they struck off, steering an average south-westcourse, following the line of a creek called by Mr. Gregory,Sturt's Creek, which they travelled for nearly three hundredmiles, when they traced it into the bed of a then dry salt lake;beyond which the whole country to the south seemed one vastdesert, destitute of any indications of the existence of water.They, therefore, on March 5, abandoned all hope of penetratingfurther in a southerly direction, and started on their return.After leaving Sturt's Creek, they crossed a ridge about 1,700feet above the sea, and then came upon another creek, which theynamed Sterling Creek, and supposed to fall into Cambridge Gulf.Thence they pushed on for the depôt camp, where they arrived onthe 28th, and found all the party left in charge in good healthand order. The ration of the explorers per diem had been 1 lb. offlour, 1-5th lb. of pork, and 2 ozs. of sugar—not exactlythe diet of a Sybarite. After three days rest, Mr. Gregory againstarted to examine the country to the eastward of the depôt camp,returning on April 17, and thence after some minor investigation,reaching the principal camp on the Victoria River on May 9. Theschooner was yet completing her repairs—the carpenter haddied, some of the crew were sick, but the men connected with theexpedition were all in good health. The result of this portion ofthe exploration had been to conclusively demonstrate theuselessness of the Victoria River for reaching the interior, andto dissipate the expectations that had been founded on a contrarysupposition.

On a review of his own position, Mr. Gregory determined thatit would be best to send the schooner—reinforcing her crewby some of his own men—to Coepang, in the island of Timor,where a supply of rice, sugar, and other stores could be got.These obtained, he directed that she should sail for the AlbertRiver, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, he and his party pursuingtheir journey together by land in the discharge of the secondportion of their task—the connection of the Albert with theVictoria by a practicable route. This expedition finallyconsisted of Mr. Gregory and his brother, Dr. Müller, Mr. Elsey,and three others. Amongst the preparations for a start, I noticethe making of meat biscuits, thus described—

"6 lbs. of flour were added to each 6 lb. tin ofpreserved beef with the whole of the fat and gravy, and 1 oz. ofsalt (no water being required); the whole being worked up into astiff dough, and baked in the ordinary form and size of seabiscuit, the whole weight of which was 8 lbs. Thus 11 lb. ofbiscuit was equal to 1 lb. of meat and 1 lb. offlour."

On June 21 they started; and, after a journey marked by noparticular occurrence, reached the Albert on August 31, when theywere disappointed at not finding any sign of theTomTough.* Marking a tree, therefore, and burying a tincannister with some papers, in case she should arrive,they—abandoning any idea of connecting their route with thetermination of Sir Thomas Mitchell's journey as impracticablewith the means at their disposal—entered upon the last partof their exploration: the tracing a route from the Alberteasterly to Moreton Bay. Crossing the Plains of Promise ofStokes, they turned northward to the Gilbert River, which theyreached on September 21. They then struck in a south-easterlydirection, and by October 30 arrived at the junction of theSuttor with the Burdekin. By November 15 they came upon theMackenzie, which they followed up until they reached the coast,and, just below the junction of the two, found the remains of acamp of Leichhardt's, in his second expedition. Thence steeringeast, by the 21st they reached the Dawson, and, on the next day,a station then held by Messrs. Fitz and Connor. The journey toBrisbane was then comparatively easy, and Mr. Gregory reachedBrisbane, as I have said, on December 16. Of the thirty-fourhorses with which he left the Victoria River, he had twenty-nineremaining, and had sold one; and his stores and equipmentgenerally bail been found more than sufficient.

[* This vessel left the Victoria River on July22, reached Coepang on the 25th, and, being found unfit for thefurther service of the expedition, was sent to Sourabaya, andsold.]

As to the geological nature of the country travelled over, orits value for pastoral or agricultural settlement, it will besufficient to say that Mr. Gregory's contributions at the timewere valuable and interesting, and added much to the thenexisting limited stock of knowledge. More noteworthy was thedeliberate caution, yet at no sacrifice of time, with which everystep was taken, and the general immunity from sickness oraccident which characterised the expedition under his immediatecharge throughout its course. He added to his reputation as acool and courageous explorer, and established what was of equalimportance, his character as eminently a safe one. There wasnothing sensational attempted; none of what is generally termed"dash"; but what was to be done, and how, were fully weighed, andwhen determined carried thoroughly out; and thus the expeditionwas not the least useful, while it certainly was one of the bestconducted and successful of our Australian explorations.

{Page 209}

CHAPTER XII.

1857-9.

Delays in the Final Adjustment ofSeparation—Constitution of a Branch of the Supreme Court atMoreton Bay—Transfer of Judge Milford and Appointment ofJudge Lutwyche—Elections under the new ElectoralAct—Assessment Act and Opposition thereto—Formationof Municipalities—Mr. Robertson's Introduction of FreeSelection into his Land Policy—The CunoonaGoldfield—Its Failure—Rockhampton Proclaimed aTownship—Industrial Progress—SocialMovement—Journalistic Changes—A. C. Gregory's Searchfor Tracks of Leichhardt—Overland Journey toAdelaide—Dalrymple's Examination of the BurdekinCountry—Rumoured Act of Parliament to LegalizeSeparation—Order in Council Creating the New Colony ofQueensland—The Boundaries Unsatisfactory—Settlementof Debt and Form of Government—Initiatory Measures forFormation of the Legislature—Inequitable Apportionment ofthe Electorates—Preparation for the Reception of the NewGovernor.

It may seem somewhat in contradictionto my usual course that I have grouped the occurrences of thelast three years of this narrative into a single chapter, but inthe history of a district like Moreton Bay, there are periods ofwhat may be called repetition—when the current of events inone year so recalls those of its predecessor, and prefigures whatmay be expected in the next, that the monotony of recapitulationbecomes tiresome, and the reader longs for variety of incidentand rapidity of action. I do not conceal from myself that theyears 1857-8-9 afford little, except towards the end of 1859,that would excite the attention of nine-tenths of the presentpopulation of Queensland. They were years of suspense, and notunfrequently of tantalizing uncertainty. The people felt thatseparation was secured, but its precise shape and the details ofits final accomplishment were still subjects for conjecture. Thedelays of Sir William Denison in reporting on the questionssubmitted to him, as to details, by the Colonial Office, thehindrances opposed at every step by the New South WalesGovernment, and the extraordinary misapprehension by the Imperialauthorities as to the legal and formal measures to be taken,together with Ministerial changes in England, combined to delaythe actual proclamation of the new colony for nearly three yearsafter its separation had been determined upon.

The feeling towards the district, of the legislature and theleading public men of New South Wales, was one of exasperation,tending to obstruction in every possible form; but there weresome administrative measures so obviously necessary, as well asjust, that they could not be withheld. The bill for theestablishment of a branch of the Supreme Court, with a residentjudge in the district, having been at length passed, Mr. JusticeMilford was appointed to the judgeship, and formally opened hiscourt in Brisbane on April 15, 1857. But, this Act provingdefective, another was enacted, by which the former one, with theexception of the clause under which Mr. Justice Milford was madea resident judge, was repealed. The new measure authorised, inaddition, the appointment of a Crown prosecutor, a sheriff, aregistrar of the Supreme Court in Moreton Bay, an officialassignee in insolvency, and a curator of intestate estates. Thejudge himself was to act as commissioner in insolvency for thedistrict; whence arose the absurdity, long continued, of anappeal from the decisions of the commissioner to the same personas judge. Mr.—now Mr. Justice—Ratcliffe Pring, whoseprofessional and political career forms no inconsiderable portionof the subsequent history of the colony, was appointed CrownProsecutor; the late Mr. W. A. Brown, Sheriff; and the late Mr.Pickering, Official Assignee. In the course of time, grumblingsarose in Brisbane at the frequent absences of Mr. Justice Milfordfrom the seat of his jurisdiction, and in Sydney there was a mildjocularity at his expense, touching his supposed anglingachievements, in which pursuit it pleased the wits of thatmetropolis to assume that the Judge found his almost soleemployment. It was well understood that he did not himselfparticularly enjoy his residence in this locality, and was notsorry when legal exigencies, real or supposed, compelled hisreturn to the more varied enjoyments which Sydney could afford.Whether it was sympathy with Mr. Justice Milford's banishment, ora real desire for his aid on the Sydney judicial bench, thatmoved Mr. Plunkett, I cannot say, but in the session of 1858-9 hebrought in a bill "to enable the Governor, from time to time, toappoint a barrister to act temporarily as assistant districtjudge at Moreton Bay, and for other purposes therein mentioned."Whatever might have been the motive for this attempt, it failed;but it was not long before a change took place, acceptable enoughto the parties most concerned, although assailed by others withall the bitterness of personal dislike, as well as of politicalhostility.

For, in September, 1857, the Parker administration of NewSouth Wales resigned, and a new Ministry was formed, on what werecalled "liberal" principles. The late Sir Charles—then Mr.Charles—Cowper (afterwards Agent-General in London for NewSouth Wales) was the Premier; Mr. R. Campbell, ColonialTreasurer; Mr. T. A. Murray, Secretary for Lands; Mr. JamesMartin—now Sir James, and Chief Justice of New SouthWales—Attorney-General; and Mr. A. J. P. Lutwyche,—Solicitor-General. A hostile vote led to a dissolution, andultimately to a change—Mr. John Robertson—now SirJohn, but familiarly known as "Free Selection Jack"—takingthe Lands portfolio. Towards the end of 1858 dissensions ensuedbetween the Attorney-General and his colleagues, partly from,what were called, his conservative tendencies—which weresaid to have manifested themselves in a carelessness andinattention to his official duties, which, in one instance, ledto a vote of censure on the whole Ministry—and partly, ashe is reported to have explained, from dislike to the directionwhich he saw Mr. Cowper's politics were taking. At the request ofthe Premier, Mr. Martin resigned; and Mr. Lutwyche succeeded himas Attorney-General. At this time it was understood that Mr.Justice Therry was about to resign, contemplating a visit toEurope, and there immediately arose a fierce party contest as towho should take his place; but it was soon known that Mr. JusticeMilford would be recalled to Sydney, while the Attorney-Generalwould, in the ordinary course of succession, be appointed to hisseat. In due time these appointments were made, Mr. Lutwychebeing sworn in and gazetted on February 22, 1859, as judge of theSupreme Court of New South Wales, and arriving in Brisbane onMarch 8. His elevation to the Bench was the cause of someexceedingly bitter debates in the New South Wales Parliament, inwhich private, as well as political, animosity seems to haveprevailed with his assailants, to the exclusion of all sense ofpublic justice. That he would fail as a judge, was predicted witha confidence as full as the contradiction which his more thantwenty years subsequent judicial career abundantly furnished.

The legislation of this period possesses but a slight interestfor Queensland. The Electoral Act, to which I have beforereferred, was, from the causes I have mentioned, inoperativehere, except as to the interim elections between its passing andthe formal separation of the district from New South Wales. Itgave nine members to the then northern districts, but wasreceived with only a slight degree of attention which whatfeeling could be evoked by a temporary representation, could notfan into enthusiasm—even when the influence that a presentsuccess might exercise in the choice of members for the futurelocal Legislative Assembly was accorded the weight supposed to beits due. The New South Wales Legislative Assembly was dissolvedin April 1859; the writs for the new one were issued in thefollowing May, but the news of the formal completion of theseparation arrangements arrived before the date at which the lastwas returnable. Mr. Robertson, however, had expounded his landpolicy—which in our colonial legislation has something morethan historic value. Its principal points were:—a reductionin the upset price of lands sold by auction to five shillings peracre; a right of free selection over all country lands, surveyedor unsurveyed, at a fixed price of £1 per acre, half the purchasemoney being paid on selection, the remainder by deferredpayments; and the determination of the minimum area open toselection by any one person at 80 acres, and the maximum at 320.Commenting upon this Mr. Macalister, at Ipswich, on June 25,said, "Though I have a very favourable leaning to the CowperMinistry I object to the Land Bill, which, if passed, would beruin to the country;" nor was he unsupported in this opinion,even by the most popular candidates of the day. But separationleft the remodelling of the land policy of the new colony to itsown legislature; and, except as indications of the direction thatmight be taken, these expressions of opinion were of noimportance. The elections resulted in the return of Mr.Richardson for Brisbane, Mr. R. Cribb for East Moreton, Mr.Macalister for Ipswich, Mr. John Douglas and Mr. Wm. Handcock forthe Darling Downs, and Mr. W. H. Walsh for the Leichhardt. Mr.Clarke Irving was again elected for the Clarence district, andMr. Hodgson, who had taken the management of the AustralianAgricultural Company's business in New South Wales, now found anaristocratic refuge amongst the colliers of Newcastle, adjoiningwhich port the coal mines of the Company were situated.

The new Assessment Act was, as was natural, received with nosmall dissatisfaction, open and unexpressed. The rates paid bythe pastoral lessees up to this time were a halfpenny for everysheep (or twenty-one shillings and eightpence per thousand),three halfpence for every head of cattle, and threepence forevery horse which were upon any run, or which the run wasestimated to be capable of carrying. These rates were nowincreased to seven pounds ten shillings for every thousand sheep,and proportionately for cattle and horses. And the method offixing the rents on new and renewed leases in the settleddistricts was also altered. Under the Orders in Council they hadbeen £10 for the first four thousand sheep and £2 10s. for everyadditional thousand: they were now to be charged for renewal atthe rate of £2 per square mile, and for new leases at £1. Theseincreases were calculated to add considerably to the revenue, andabridge more than was liked the squatter's profits, and thesquatters were proportionately angry. Some of them had recourseto Mr. Martin, who gave a legal opinion that the Act was illegal,he having been nevertheless Attorney-General in the Ministry bywhom it was brought in. Mr. Lutwyche, his successor, effectuallycontroverted that opinion, and the Act was carried out in theusual way. A somewhat amusing incident occurred in the course ofthe opposition to this measure. Several gentlemen in the Burnettdistrict met at Gayndah in January, 1859, and were valorous intheir protests against it. They pledged themselves to resist theAct by every means in their power—they even agreed to raisea fund to defray the costs of an appeal to the law courts, bycontributions proportionate it amount to the number of sheep upontheir runs; they made an immediate call of half-a-crown perthousand sheep to defray current expenses—and theirfellow-squatters who read the advertisements in which theseproceedings were published, were no doubt much comforted by thevaliancy of their volunteer defenders. In due time the owners of222,000 sheep and 2,560 cattle signed the required undertaking.The following July witnessed the entire collapse of the alliance:it met with no outside support and the Assessment Act wastherefore safe. Tho sole memorial of their patriotism left to themembers were the advertisements and the receipts for payment fortheir insertion. The impression I derive from a carefulconsideration of all the facts is, that the runs were known to begenerally assessed at a carrying power much below their realcapacity and that the Act was designed to meet a contingencywhich could not otherwise be easily, if at all, provided for.

Municipal institutions were pet topics for eulogy with SirWilliam Denison, who regarded them as academies wherein menrising in social position amongst their fellows might in timelearn to become legislators and in this opinion he found asubsequent and earnest supporter in Sir George Bowen. Undoubtedlyas regards forms and method in public business, and as developingreadiness for co-operation and a proportionate sacrifice ofindividual will in administrative matters, the value of suchinstitutions was not overrated by these Governors; but, asfitting the persons engaged in them for the higher and in somerespects opposite business of general legislation, theirinfluence may be questioned, as more likely to produce adeteriorative than a beneficial effect. Mill, in his admirabletreatise on representative government, has discussed the questionwith his accustomed logical and analytical power, and in a morethat usually practical direction, and his conclusions seemdirectly contrary to those I have indicated as arrived at by SirWilliam Denison and Sir George Bowen. Those who desire to see inhow masterly a manner he dealt with the subject will find theirtime well spent in a careful perusal of the great logician andeconomist's essay.

But Sir William Denison was not content to be a theorist, andthe first Municipalities Act in these colonies (22 Vic., No. 13,N.S.W.) understood to have been pushed forward all the morevigorously for hearty exertions towards its enactment. It wasassented to on October 27, 1858, and, running to ninety-sixclauses, dealt with a variety of power: and duties which it isunnecessary to refer to in detail, inasmuch as we had our own Actemendatory of that, and which itself supplied another instance ofthe ordinary character of legislation by, in its turn, requiringfurther amendment. The residents of Brisbane and Ipswich weresoon engaged in discussing the desirability of availingthemselves of the provisions of the new measure, and assuming themanagement of their own local affairs. It was necessary topetition the Governor in Council to proclaim a municipality, tofix its boundaries, and to provide for the first election of aMunicipal Council. The people of Ipswich were first in the field,and met on December 9, 1858, when the necessary petition wassubmitted to the meeting; but the meeting was not in accord fromthe beginning, a suggestion to divide the proposed municipalityinto three wards being condemned by some, and the titles ofchairman and councillors being preferred by others to those ofmayor and aldermen—the latter falling for the time intodisfavour as savouring of turtle-eating propensities. After somediscussion a committee was appointed to correspond with theGovernment respecting the retention of wharfage and ferry dues,and other reservations; to consider if a municipality weredesirable, and to report the result to a subsequent meeting. Anadjournment then took place to the following February, to affordtime for the committee to perfect their work. They were, however,ready on January 19, 1859, when they reported in favour of amunicipality and its division into three wards, and thedesignation of the new municipal representatives as chairman andcouncillors. On the adoption of this report being moved at ameeting called to receive it, great dissension arose, and anamendment was moved that a municipality would be premature. Whenthe chairman of the meeting declared the amendment to be carrieda division was called for, and a scene of confusion arose whichrendered a further adjournment necessary. A third meeting washeld in a few days, when no satisfactory decision seems to havebeen arrived at, although the opponents of a municipality claimedthe victory. Ultimately, a petition in favour of incorporation,signed by the principal holders of property in the town, was sentto the Governor of New South Wales, who left it as a matter to bedealt with by the authorities of the new colony, and it was notuntil March, 1860, that Ipswich was proclaimed amunicipality.

The first Brisbane meeting was held in the School of Arts onDecember 13, 1853, and, in the words of the notice, to considerthe propriety of petitioning for the application of the Act toBrisbane. The petition brought forward was opposed on the groundthat the then prospect of speedy separation rendered itinexpedient to take any such step. The opposition, however, wasfor the time fruitless. Much public correspondence then tookplace on the value of the properties to be assessed, and theprobable expense of a corporation, the modest sum of £550 perannum being set down by one side for salaries, of which the mayorwas to receive £200; while on the other it was predicted that thecost of administration would absorb the proceeds of the rates. Acounter petition was prepared, circulated, signed, and forwarded;the signatures for and against incorporation being 181 and 240.On the publication of the protesting document in theGovernment Gazette, a large and noisy meeting was held inthe School of Arts, ostensibly for the purpose of enquiring intothe genuineness of the signatures attached to it, but principallyto carry a memorial to the Government, in which that genuinenesswas denied. Some effect was produced by the reading of a letterfrom the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, in reply to anapplication for a grant of money towards the repair of thewater-reservoir. It was a curiosity in its way—erroneous inits premises, logical in its conclusions, terse and dogmatic inits expression. Starting with the assumption that "any placepossessing a considerable share of population would necessarilyincorporate itself under the Municipalities Act, in which casewater supply would properly fall within the duties of theCorporation, and that when a district was not sufficientlyadvanced for the purpose, expenditure of the kind would beunjustifiable." It proceeded,—"either Brisbane is in suchan advanced state or it is not; if it is, then it should beincorporated—and if it is not, money should not be expendedin supplying it with water." Ultimately, the meeting condemnedthe counter petition; and a memorial to the Governor, denying itsintegrity, was decided upon. This, apparently, had the desiredweight—for after some delay, and on September 7, 1859, theMunicipality of Brisbane was proclaimed. The first election tookplace on October 12, and the poll, declared on the 13th, gavenames of the following gentlemen as those of the first MunicipalCouncil in Queensland:—John Petrie, Patrick Mayne, T. B.Stephens, Joshua Jeays, A. J. Hockings, G. Edmondstone, R. Cribb,Geo. Warren, and W. S. Sutton. Of these at this time foursurvive—Messrs. T. B. Stephens, Jeays, Mayne, Warren, andSutton no longer live to see the result of the labours theyassisted in initiating. At the first meeting of the Council Mr.Petrie was unanimously elected Mayor.

I have given more space to the preliminary proceedings of thefirst two municipalities than I should have done had they notbeen the first, for generally the course in such matters is sonearly the same in all cases that it requires very specialcircumstances to justify special notice of any particular one.Here, as it seemed to me, an unusual interest did attach to thetwo in question, because they were the first in the colony; and,perhaps, their not least noticeable characteristic was that, evenat a period when the desire for self-government was apparentlymost intense, there was no inconsiderable number in the twoprincipal towns in the district who were averse to theresponsibilities it involved, while the rest, if disposed toenjoy the privilege, were equally so to, if possible, enjoy itwith as little of the expense it might incur as could well bemanaged.

During this, what may be called anticipatory, period, therewas a sort of feverish excitement as to the existence of apayable goldfield within, or nigh to, the boundaries of thedistrict. Occasional finds, as at Boonoo Boonoo and Tooloom onthe New England side, roused the public anticipations, only todisappoint them; but the year 1858 was remarkable for one of themost extraordinary manias that has ever raged since the firstdiscovery of gold in New South Wales. From a letter to theGovernment from Captain O'Connell, who, on the abolition of theGovernment residentship at Port Curtis, had been appointedCommissioner of Crown lands, it appears that that gentlemanhaving occasion to make an official tour in the North, inNovember, 1857, took with him a practical miner, and in thecourse of his explorations obtained about a pennyweight of finegold. Following upon this, the people of Gladstone subscribed afund to enable a party of six persons to prosecute the search. OnJuly 28, 1858, the Commissioner was enabled to say, from privateinformation, that an easily accessible and remunerative goldfieldwas discovered. Other correspondence with mercantile firms spokein sanguine language of the diggings as the best in the colony.In theCourier of the same date it was reported that goldin good-sized nuggets had been found at Canoona; and that at ameeting held at Gladstone to receive the report of the explorers,who attended with their specimens, they gave as their opinionthat men could on those diggings earn from fifteen to twentyshillings per day. As the site of the goldfield was only sevenmiles from the Fitzroy River, and thirty from the then formingtownship of Rockhampton, considerable excitement was caused bythe intelligence. Towards the end of August came "reliable news."The miners on the spot, who now numbered about eighty, werereported to be in good spirits, and positive of success—oneof them making sixteen ounces in as many days; and soon afterGladstone was described as deserted. Early in September abouteighty ounces of gold arrived in Sydney, and immediately theYarra Yarra andPirate, steamers, and nine sailingvessels, were laid on for the diggings, and the newspapers beganto speculate on the result; theSydney Herald suggestingthat Gladstone would probably be the capital of the proposednorthern colony, and theCourier finding strong reasonsfor believing that, "in the final adjustment of the colonialboundaries, New South Wales would be bounded, on the north, bythe 30th parallel, and that Port Curtis would be a new politicalcentre for a colony immediately to the northward of Cooksland."Private letters continued to bring, in vague terms, favourableaccounts of the capabilities of the new field, and fresh partiesof diggers began to pour in. Nine vessels were laid on atMelbourne, and both from that port and Sydney a rush of a mostformidable character set in. By September 21, fifteen hundredpersons had left Sydney for the new field. On the 27th, thearrival in Brisbane of Mr. Hamilton Ramsay (lately a Northerngoldfields warden), who had travelled overland from Canoona, withone hundred ounces of gold, startled the people from their usualstaid propriety, and a meeting was proposed to concert measuresfor establishing a regular line of communication betweenRockhampton and Moreton Bay, commencing with a steamer and atleast two schooners. In vain was it pointed out that, after all,the yield of gold was insignificant compared with the numberengaged in searching for it; the warning was received with apitying incredulity. But the news began to fluctuate in itscharacter before the crowds who had left Victoria began toarrive; the excitement on the goldfields of that colony, causedby the first and most flattering intelligence, being only to bedescribed as intense. From Sandhurst, from Castlemaine, fromBallarat, and from their tributary goldfields, continuous linesof diggers were encountered on the roads to the ports. When theywere questioned why, they could only say that they were going tothe Canoona; but, as to the nature of that goldfield, or theyield that had been, or was likely to be, obtained from it, vaguerumours and ridiculous exaggerations were all that was to be gotfrom them. Men left claims returning them an average wage,withdrew their money from the Savings Bank, shouldered theirswags, and started on the tramp, without being able to assign themost remote approach to a tangible cause for their procedure. TheVictorian journals denounced this folly, and insisted upon theprudence of waiting for more certain information, while some ofthem had recourse to such intimidation as might be obtained fromdoleful descriptions of the climate and general unhealthiness ofthe new field; indeed, from some accounts by travellersprofessing to have had personal experience in the north ofAustralia, Moreton Bay generally, and its northern countryespecially, might be supposed as fertile in only twoproducts—sweet potatoes and snakes. But it was all in vain.Twenty-five sailing vessels and three steamers were reported aslaid on at one time at Melbourne for Rockhampton, and on theminers continued to pour, until the news reached Melbourne thatthe first arrivals found only a small and worked-out field. Inthe meantime, the influx of population rendered some attempt atgovernment indispensable. An assistant gold commissioner, asub-gold commissioner, a sub-collector of customs, and alanding-waiter and tide-surveyor, and a small police force, weresent to Rockhampton, which had been proclaimed a township.Captain O'Connell, who had been gazetted, on September 17, as agold commissioner, forwarded a report on the 27th, in which,while still expressing faith in the field, he confessed that helooked with some alarm at the unusual numbers said to be on theirway, and feared that much disappointment and individual distresswould be the result. By the middle of October it was known, bothin Brisbane and Sydney, that the supposed auriferous wealth ofthe district existed principally in the imagination, and thatgreat misery existed there; while a considerable number of thelater arrivals returned by the vessels in which they came. Therewas some tendency to riot, and much wrath indulged in, at, whatwas termed, a swindling imposition. The inexcusable andunaccountable folly of the angry men was really most to blame.Captain O'Connell had much trouble in dealing with thedisappointed adventurers, and his treatment of them was eulogisedin the MelbourneArgus, at the time, as equally firm andconciliatory. On October 7 the numbers on the diggings werereduced to between four and five hundred; by the 15th they werereduced to two hundred and fifty, and thereafter, by degress, thefield became deserted. In all, not less than ten thousand peoplewere reported as having been attracted to the shores of theFitzroy by this extraordinary delusion. One good resulted fromit. A site was surveyed for a township at Rockhampton, and thefirst land sales were held in Sydney on November 17 and 18.Captain O'Connell became again Resident at Port Curtis, and theother gold commissioners, I presume, went their ways. When theland sale was held a great number of lots were offered, andnearly all were sold. The average prices were, for half anallotment facing the river, £70; and for back allotments,£17.

During, and after, this, efforts were made, from time to time,to fit out searching parties, and rewards were offered for thediscovery of gold, but without any tangible result. Reports moreor less encouraging came in, and there the matter usually ended.Accident, then as now, had most to do in confirming theinferences of science; and, as yet, no lucky traveller stumbledover a nugget half-buried in his track, and brown with thecolouring with which long exposure had invested it. I imaginethat desire so quickened credulity that, in some instances, thegold seekers, real or supposed, traded not unprofitably on theproduct.

Disappointed, as they might be at the failure of everyexperimental search for gold, and by the rapid exhaustion of suchfields as, from time to time, excited their hopes, the people ofthe then northern districts still had, in the gradual developmentof their trade springing from the extending occupation of thecountry, some consolation. They were able to point to theirtables of exports with the satisfaction that their increasingcolumns might be supposed calculated to produce. Although,possibly, it was somewhat dimmed by the monotonous character ofthe articles exported—a monotony which scarcely bespoke theexistence of an intelligent enterprise in the community in whichit occurred. Still, if we look at the progress made in theinterval between the time that the district was opened forsettlement and the date of separation, it had, under all thedisadvantages which had to be contended against, been quitesufficient to justify the anticipation that when they wereremoved there awaited the young colony a busy and prosperouscareer.

There had, to be sure, been little effort at increasing thevarieties of industry of which the soil and climate and naturalproduct were susceptible. Cotton languished of good symptoms, andwhen Mr. Fleming established a flour-mill in connection with hissaw-mill on the Bremer River, near Ipswich, he imported wheatfrom Adelaide for grinding. Dr. Hobbs utilised the oil of thedugong (a marine animal sufficiently curious to justify aparticular description in a future chapter) for medical purposes,and at one time indulged in the hope that it would become avaluable export; but no sooner were its qualities appreciatedthan wretched imitations were manufactured to such an extent,that a greater quantity was sold in Melbourne alone than wasprocured in Moreton Bay. Immigration to the district was languid.Dr. Lang's land and immigration bill was brought before the NewSouth Wales Parliament once more, and some extension of thepowers conferred by it seems to have been sought, but the adventof Separation left the scheme a legacy to the future QueenslandParliament, before whom it never, as a project, came; andfinally, except as to its value as indicating a system, itvanished in the limbo which awaits the efforts of all who havethe misfortune to be a little in advance of their time, and tohave sufficient enthusiasm or folly not to perceive theirposition. The irregularity, fraud, and inhumanity whichcharacterised much of the management of the German immigration tothe colony evoked Legislative inquiry and Legislative censure,but too late to exert any effect upon the system as respectedMoreton Bay.

The black population were, during this period of transition,at constant war with the squatters and settlers. In October,1857, they attacked a station at Hornet Bank, on the Dawson,where they murdered eleven persons, only one of the unfortunatefamily who were settled there being left. In the Burnett and theLeichhardt districts they were continual causes of terror. Acommittee of the New South Wales Legislative Council wasappointed to enquire into and report upon this mostunsatisfactory state of things; but their labours had nopractical result; philanthropy and economy combining to leave theaboriginal marauders to work their will, and thus a war ofreprisals, sometimes ending in extermination, became almost amatter of necessity. The outlying districts were left, in greatmeasure, unprotected, or only intermittently and inefficientlyguarded, up to the date of separation.

In the towns the efforts at social advancement were, if notalways judicious, yet not without zeal. There was sometimes aplethora of lectures at the Brisbane School of Arts, some ofwhich, if I am to judge by the printed reports—in themajority of cases apparently verbatim—would have beeninstructive, had they awakened interest. A choral society wasformed, and seems to have been at least temporarily successful.Another School of Arts was inaugurated at Ipswich, not withoutmuch dispute and bickering; and a third at Toowoomba, where agift by Mr. Handcock of a site tended greatly to dulcify theproceedings. The religious element in the little society wasstimulated to unwonted activity by the late Rev. B. G. Wilson'sarrival in Brisbane to take charge of the Baptist congregationthere on September 12, 1858; and about that time considerableenergy was shown in advocating the indispensability to theChristian of adult baptism and immersion. Whether it was that thetenet itself was unwelcome to Mr. Wilson's clericalcontemporaries, or the way in which it was enforced by itsadherents, disliked, it is not now necessary to enquire; whatevermight be the cause, the air became darkened with controversy;sermons, lectures, pamphlets, and advertisements followed eachother in quick and inharmonious succession. One pamphlet, inparticular, entitled "Whither are we drifting?" in which theresources of typography, in capitals and italics, wereemphatically "displayed" in illustration of the arguments,eliciting a running fire of replies and rejoinders highlyprofitable to the proprietors of newspapers, whose theology wasnot ardent enough to induce them to insert the rival productionsin any other guise than that of advertisements. Possibly, fromthis cause, the dispute in time languished, and theecclesiastical condition resumed its usual quietude. Yet all theenergy was not of one kind. The building of chapels proceeded.St. Paul's Church, Ipswich, was finished and opened; and if thenew buildings did not add much to the architectural beauty oftheir respective localities, they bore much testimony to theliberality of those who subscribed towards their erection.Unconnected with the circumstances I have just alluded to, thoughconnected with the general subject, was the erection of Brisbaneinto a Roman Catholic See, and the election of Dr. James Quinn asits Bishop, both of which were duly notified by ArchbishopPolding in a pastoral dated August 28, 1859.

The contributions of the New South Wales Government to thepublic progress were few. The harbour of Moreton Bay remained asit was, but some efforts were made to improve the navigation ofthe Brisbane and Bremer by the removal of fallen timber and otherobstructions. A new Court-house was built at Ipswich, and thelong-promised new gaol at Brisbane was commenced. It may beregretted that the chronic procrastination of the authorities hadnot been still more marked as to the gaol, which might well haveclaimed the bad eminence of being about the worst for its purposeof such buildings in the colonies—whether as regardshealth, convenience, or supervision. The colonial architect'soffice in Sydney was not at that time distinguished by anyspecial ability, either in invention or copyism, but it is fairto add that the Governor was said to have assisted in decidingupon the arrangement of the unlucky structure. In the LandsDepartment a proposal to lease the islands of Moreton Bay wasresisted with more than usual vigour, and the attempt wasabandoned. An application for a Recreation Reserve and BotanicGardens at Ipswich was more successful.

Some changes took place consequent upon the appointment of Mr.Justice Lutwyche as the resident Judge. On October 12, 1859,circuit courts were proclaimed at Ipswich, Drayton, andMaryborough, to the great relief of all who were interested inlitigation in the places named; and the salaries of the CrownProsecutor and the Sheriff, which had been fixed at absurdly lowamounts, were raised to sums more proportionate to theresponsibility of their positions: the first from £200 per annumto £500, the second from £150 to £450. Outside legal promotions,I notice the advancement of Mr. Duncan, who had been many yearsCollector of Customs here, to the headship of the department inSydney, his place being taken by Mr. Wm. Thornton, who hasretained it ever since.

From law and government to literature is a transition moreeasy than the reverse one; and I now chronicle the issue of twonew journals in the colony—theDarling DownsGazette, the first number of which was published in Drayton,on June 11, 1858; and theIpswich Herald, which commenceda not very lengthened career on July 4, 1859. TheDarlingDowns Gazette was started by Mr. Lyons, the originator, as Ihave narrated, of theCourier, but his new speculationseems to have resulted in as little profit to himself as creditto some of his supporters. TheCourier itself twicechanged its management during the period whose history iscomprised within this chapter. Mr. Charles Lilley, the presentChief Justice of the Supreme Court, in partnership with Mr.Belbridge, a printer of some reputation, rented it from Mr. Swan,on October 1, 1857 (fifteen months after Mr. Labouchere'sdespatch announcing the determination of the Imperial Governmentto separate Moreton Bay from New South Wales), but after a year'strial surrendered it back into his hands. The only good thatseemed to have resulted from this, said theNorthAustralian, was that the issue had become tri-weekly, and thecirculation had increased—not a singular instance of how asneer sometimes unintentionally conveys a compliment. On October1, 1859, Mr. Swan sold the paper to the late Mr. T. B. Stephens,in whose hands it remained about fifteen years. I have omitted tomention that Mr. Wilkes had retired from theeditorship—leaving the district for Sydney. The year 1859is also noticeable as that in which the first issue of thewell-knownPugh's Almanac took place—a work which,well commenced, was carried on with great completeness andsuccess by Mr. Pugh for some years, and under its presentmanagement maintains its reputation as one of the bestperiodicals of its kind in the colonies.

The year 1858 was marked by one of the most bold andsuccessful explorations in the history of Australian adventure.The anxiety expressed as to the fate of Leichhardt hadstrengthened with the lapse of time, until, at length, theGovernment of New South Wales determined on an expedition insearch of what traces might remain of him and his party. Theexpedition was placed in charge of Mr. A. C. Gregory, who, aftersome unavoidable delays, collected his party and completed hisarrangements towards the end of March. The expedition comprisedeight persons besides himself, and they took with them thirty-onepack-horses and nine saddle horses—the pack-horses carryingat first an average load of 150 lbs. each. The provisions for thejourney were the dried meat of two bullocks and four sheep,reduced by removing the bones and drying to 300 lbs.; 500 lbs.bacon, 160 lbs. flour, 100 lbs. rice, 350 lbs. sugar, 60 lbs.tea, 40 lbs. tobacco, and some minor articles. The otherequipments were of the simplest and lightest practicable kind.Leaving Juandah, the Messrs. Royds' station, on the Dawson, theycrossed the basaltic ridge that divides the eastern watersflowing to that river from those trending to the west into thebasin of the Maranoa, a tributary of which they followedwestward, and reached the river itself in latitude 25 deg. 41min. Thence they found a practicable route to the tributaries ofthe Warrego, and pursued their course to the Nive, and NNW. untilthey reached the Victoria of Mitchell, when they found the bed ofthe river scarcely ten yards wide, and perfectly dry. Continuingtheir route along the Victoria, and examining the country on bothsides, they came not far from latitude 24 deg. 27 min. longitude146 deg. 13 min., on a marked tree, and other traces of one ofLeichhardt's camps. They then struck upon the Alice River, andfollowed it clown to its junction with the Thompson, up whichthey continued their route—

"Nothing could be more desolate than the aspect ofthe country. Except the few trees which grew on the immediatebank of the river, there was scarcely a tree left alive, whilethe plains were quite bare of vegetation, except a fewsalsolaceous bushes. At the distance of five miles low ridges ofred drift sand showed the desert character of all around; eventhe lower surfaces of the clouds assumed a lurid tinge from thereflection of the bare surface of red sand. . . We however,succeeded in reaching latitude 23 degs. 47 mins., when theabsence of water and grass—the rain not having extended sofar north, and the channels of the river separating into smallgullies, and spreading on the wide plains—precluded ourprogressing further north or west, and the only prospect ofsaving our horses was to return south as quickly aspossible."

They then determined to follow the Thompson down to trace itsoutlet, thinking that Leichhardt, under similar circumstances,might have been driven to the south-west. The journey washarassing and toilsome; but, at length, reaching the branch ofCooper's Creek, named by Sturt Streletzki Creek, they travelledmostly along it until its junction with Lake Torrens, and thenceto Adelaide, where they were received with great enthusiasm. Iregret that my space will not admit of copious extracts from Mr.Gregory's report of the journey whose results, with reference tothe physical geography of Australia, were most important; but hisconclusion as to the fate of Leichhardt cannot well beomitted—

"With reference to the probable fate of Dr.Leichhardt, it is evident from the existence of the marked campnearly eighty miles beyond those seen by Mr. Hely, that theaccount given to that gentleman by the natives of the murder ofthe party was untrue, and I am inclined to think only a revivalof the report current during Leichhardt's first journey to PortEssington. Nor is it probable that they were destroyed until theyhad left the Victoria, as, if killed by the natives, thescattered bones of the horses and cattle would have been observedduring our search. I am therefore of opinion that they left theriver at the junction of the Alice, and, favoured by thundershowers, penetrated the level desert country to the north-west,in which case, on the cessation of the rain, the party would notonly be deprived of a supply of water for the outward journey,but be unable to retreat, as the shallow deposits of rain waterwould evaporate in a few days, and it is not likely that theywould commence a retrograde movement until the strength of theparty had been severely taxed in the attempt toadvance."

In 1859, a party was fitted out, headed by the late GeorgeElphinstone Dalrymple, to explore the country on the Burdekin,and ascertain its suitability for pastoral occupation. They were,I believe, well satisfied with the capabilities of the district;but the early land legislation of the colony interfered with therealization of their views as to investment or occupation.

I have said that although the general question of separationwas settled by Mr. Labouchere's despatch, there was muchuncertainty as to the adjustment of its details. To this resultthe resolutions initiated by Mr. Hargreaves, and carried throughthe Sydney Legislature, as I have before described, in no smalldegree contributed. These were reinforced by petitions from theborder districts, whose appropriation was in dispute and hostileto separation from the parent colony; in that of New England,especially, great efforts were made to procure signatures, and,in many instances, with a total disregard of honesty in attachingthem—a considerable number of those who signed, or weresupposed to have signed, living to the south of the boundarysuggested, and having, in reality, no status in the matter. Acounter petition from the Clarence district, signed by the greatmajority of the residents there, seems to have been treated as somuch waste paper. Early in 1858, a petition from the people ofBrisbane was prepared for presentation to the Queen, in whichthey asked that the final appropriation of the disputed districtsmight be deferred until their population reached ten thousandsouls. To this, most of the members for the Moreton Bayconstituencies demurred, as likely to be productive of furtherdelay. The local committee at first stood firm, and adhered totheir petition; but, in a few weeks, reflection brought about amore practical view of affairs. On November 3, 1858, a largemeeting was held in Brisbane, at which the local membersattended, and a new memorial to Her Majesty was adopted, in whichthe petitioners stated that they did not wish, by pressing thequestion of boundary, to occasion further delay. This meeting wasfollowed by another at Ipswich, on the 17th, at which all thequestions connected with separation were entered into temperatelyand deliberately. With reference to the necessity for theimmediate completion of the arrangements promised by the ImperialGovernment, a strong representation to the Colonial Office, bygentlemen in London connected with Moreton Bay, of the evilsresulting from the existing uncertainty was quoted, and itsstatements and arguments reiterated. A petition to the Queen,more elaborate and detailed than that of the Brisbane meeting,was adopted, the boundary question being dealt with in a similarmanner; and a memorial to the Governor-General, protestingagainst the manufactured petitions to which I have referred, andasking for a reconsideration of the subject, was agreed to. Afterthese meetings the agitation subsided, and the people settleddown into an attitude of dull expectation.

In May, 1859, this torpor was disturbed by news that theSecretary of State for the Colonies, in the then Derbyadministration, was about to bring in a Bill for the immediateseparation from New South Wales of all the country east of theSouth Australian boundary, north of a line drawn westerly fromPoint Danger, granting the people a government analogous to thatof the parent colony, and appointing commissioners to arrange thesettlement of the public debt. That such a notion could haveexisted seems, to me, extraordinary, inasmuch as no such bill wasnecessary, the Constitution Authorization Act giving full powerto the Queen in Council to adopt such measures as might benecessary towards the creation of a new colony. There was littletime left for those who really understood the subject to digestthe perplexity which the intelligence was calculated to cause. OnJuly 10 came the welcome news, and none the less welcome becauseunanticipated, that an Order in Council had been issued, by whichthe long desired boon was conferred. In the new colony it wasreceived with wildness of delight: in New South Wales with asullen captiousness, which found vent in grumbling over thepossible apportionment of the public debt. Letters patentcreating the colony of Queensland, and appointing Sir GeorgeFerguson Bowen its first Governor, were approved by an Order inCouncil of May 13, 1859, and on June 6 a second order was made,empowering the Governor to make laws, and provide for theadministration of justice within the territory. The longstruggle, which had been fought with such fluctuating results,was entirely at an end.

The boundaries adopted satisfied neither the old colony northe new one. The Clarence and Richmond and New England districtswere left to their old connection; but the hope that had beenonce entertained by New South Wales of compensation for thewithdrawal of Moreton Bay in the formation of new settlements inthe extreme north was extinguished by the extension of theQueensland boundary to the Gulf of Carpentaria. One result of thealteration of the line to the south was discovered when it wastoo late to remedy its mischievous consequences. The residents onthe border between New England and the Darling Downs districtsnot infrequently found their properties divided by the boundaryadopted, and were exposed to all the disadvantages which such adivision entailed. They complained that to have the simplestpetty sessions case tried they had to journey two hundred miles,being driven by the rugged nature of the country to travel over aportion of the Queensland territory before getting to anavailable route to the nearest court in New South Wales, while aQueensland one might have been reached by a better road and in afourth of the distance. An official representation of thesedifficulties was made to the elder government, accompanied by aproposal for readjustment, but with no result.

As to the debt the Duke of Newcastle—who in the changesof home politics had succeeded the late LordLytton—suggested that its apportionment was a matter"strictly of a domestic nature," and therefore best dealt with atleast in the first instance by the Legislature of the twocolonies. The appointment of a Commissioner by each with power toname an umpire, seemed to his Grace a convenient procedure,looking at the local nature of the subjects to be determinedupon, and the Legislature of New South Wales should, he thought,take the initiative. Should it decline there would then be a casefor parliamentary interference. In that position the Imperialauthorities left the question, and in that position it haspractically remained ever since.

On the third point, the form of government,—that inforce in the parent colony at the time—was, except as tothe suffrage, adopted, with some peculiarities in the details andinitiation. By the Order in Council of June 6, the Governor ofNew South Wales was authorised to summon as the nucleus for theLegislative Council of Queensland such persons, being not less innumber than five, as he should think fit, and these were to holdtheir seats for four years only. The Governor of Queensland wasempowered to add to the original number at his discretion, hisnominees having a life tenure. In order to constitute the firstLegislative Assembly the Governor of New South Wales was directedto fix the number of members, the extent of the several electoraldistricts, and the distribution of the representation; and totake all necessary measures preliminary to, and for, the conductof the first elections. While the arrangements requisite forthese purposes were being made a question arose as to thequalification for the suffrage. By an electoral Act passed in NewSouth Wales in 1858 that qualification was practically reduced toone of attainment of the legal majority and a six months'residence prior to registration. But by the 8th clause of theOrder in Council the qualification of electors in the new colonywas fixed at that defined in the New South Wales ConstitutionAct, the minimum of which was a lodgers's tenancy at a tenpounds' annual rental for six months previous to registration. Onreference to the judges they were unanimously of opinion that thequalification fixed by the Constitution Act had to be adhered to,and thus the new colony began with what those who call themselvesadvanced politicians would look upon, as regards the electoralright, as a retrograde step. In his official letter to Sir GeorgeBowen on the subject Sir William Denison seemed to regret thatsuch a course had to be adopted; but from subsequentcorrespondence I gather that he was in reality firmly opposed toUniversal Suffrage, and deprecated—especially under ourpossible local circumstances—its introduction intoQueensland.

On December 20, 1839, Sir William Denison issued aproclamation by which he constituted sixteen electoral districtsin Queensland, and allotted to them twenty-six members. I givethe list, not exactly in the order in which they appear in theproclamation, but in that of the adult male population of theelectorates, as shown by the first census taken of the colony ayear afterwards. The electorates then stood thus:—

It is impossible to acquit Sir William Denison of the chargesof unfairness and inconsistency brought against him when thisdistribution of electoral power was published. That it waspurposely designed to give the then pastoral interest anoverwhelming preponderance in the legislature, and thus tostrengthen the hold which their connection with the banks andagency houses of New South Wales gave that colony uponQueensland, was freely asserted, and there were few who doubtedthe fact. Brisbane and its suburb Fortitude Valley were the onlyconstituencies that could be said to be at all independent ofthat interest—with perhaps a portion of East Moreton; andone can hardly help challenging the equity which allotted to theWestern Downs with its small population two members, while theBurnett with four times the number of residents had only equalrepresentation. The Governor-General's conduct was the moreinconsistent in that, but a few months before, he had deprecatedseparation, because he considered the interest he now favoured tohave no fixed or abiding hold in the country;—but he hadbeen sharply criticized by the townspeople for the unfairstatement, which had brought upon him the tacit rebuke of theColonial Office, under which he still smarted, and forgivenesswas not a prominent virtue of Sir William Denison's.

Although in point of date after the assumption of thegovernorship of Queensland by Sir George Bowen, I record as apart of the initiatory procedure, directed under the Orders inCouncil, the appointment to our Legislative Council, by SirWilliam Denison, in May 1860, of Sir Charles Nicholson, the lateSir Maurice Charles O'Connell, and Messrs. John Balfour, FrancisEdward Bigge, Alfred Edward Compaigne, George Fullarton, JohnJames Galloway, James Laidley, John Frederic Macdougall, RobertGeorge Massie, and William Henry Yaldwyn. And thus ended theofficial connection of the Governor and Government of New SouthWales with the districts comprised in the colony ofQueensland.

The people of that colony were quite willing to forget theirlately dependent state in the exhilaration which accompanied thepreparations for initiating their new condition with dueceremony, and for the reception of their Governor, who wasexpected to arrive towards the close of 1859. A house belongingto Dr. Hobbs (and now that gentleman's residence), at that timethe best in the town, was taken for Sir George Bowen's occupationuntil a suitable residence could be built, and was properlyfurnished. Reception committees were formed, addresses prepared,entertainments arranged, and all seemed anxious to show hisExcellency how highly they appreciated his presence, and morehighly its cause. And leaving them thus occupied I close thegeneral narrative of this volume.

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CHAPTER XIII.

RECAPITULATION AND REVIEW.

Area and Population—Increasein Numbers from 1846 to 1860—Wealth—Pastoral,Municipal, Agricultural, and Landed Properly—State ofAgriculture—Growth of Trade from 1849 to 1859,inclusive—State of Manufactures—BankingEstablishments and Transactions—Civil Government: Its Form,Departments, and Numbers Employed—PublicExpenditure—Social Condition: Public Institutions,Difficulty of Intercourse, the Press, Amusements,Crime—Educational System—General EcclesiasticalStatistics and Systems—Laws in Force as to State Aid toReligion—The Respective Churches and Denominations:Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Independent,Baptist, and others—General Observations andConclusions.

The date at which the district waselevated into a colony affords a termination and a startingpoint, and we have therefore arrived at a suitable stage of thishistory for recapitulation and review. Necessarily some mattershave been omitted—some could not conveniently be introducedin the general course of the narrative—which is, therefore,so far, incomplete. I propose, therefore, in this chapter, tosummarize the progress of the district up to December, 1859, andto exhibit as clearly as I can its actual condition at that time,Such a review affords an opportunity for a divisionalarrangement, which, while admitting of continuity in eachsection, will not interfere with an accurate appreciation ofgeneral results, and the student who has his special subject ofinquiry will find this information available, grouped under itsspecial section. Some repetition it will be impossible to avoid,but I venture to think that the shape in which it occurs, willnot be found tedious, while the concentration of facts willfacilitate reference.

The New South Wales census of 1846 gave the total populationof the districts, which were to form the foundation of ourcolony, as 2.257; in 1857 another census stated the area of theterritory available for occupation as 58,860 square miles, andthe population as 8,575. On March 1, 1856, the area proclaimedwas 174,600 square miles, and the population 17,082, the occupiedcountry having increased threefold and the numbers of the peoplehaving doubled. On December 31, 1859, the population wasestimated with a near approach to accuracy at 25,020, showing aconsiderable falling off in the proportionate rate of increase.The area of the Queensland territory was stated in the QueenslandStatistical Register, issued by Sir George Bowen, at 1,209,800square miles; but that calculation being made upon the assumptionthat the western boundary of this colony would be the eastern oneof Western Australia, and include the large area since allottedto South Australia, was an erroneous one. Practically the countryoccupied was about the same in extent as at the census of1850.

Of the wealth of the colony at the period of its creation itis only possible to speak approximately, as for an accurateestimate the statistics I have referred to are valueless; forinstance, they take no account of the pastoral riches scatteredover the land. Taking the rate of increase maintained for someyears, and the number of horses, sheep, and cattle, asascertained in 1860, as bases, I calculate that at the close of1859 there must have been about 20,000 horses, 300,000 cattle,and 2,000,000 sheep in Queensland. The live stock on January 1,1848, was, as we have seen estimated at 698,938 sheep, 48,207cattle, and 2,189 horses. The money value of the stock in 1859,not taking the exceptional rates of 1860, might be set down attwo millions and the values of the properties comprised withinthe two municipalities of Brisbane and Ipswich, at the thencurrent rates, I could not estimate as more than £900,000, and inthe gradually-growing townships in the interior and on thecoast—in all seven—at £350,000 more. The smallquantity of land actually in cultivation, the insignificantmining works, and the moveable property employed in industrialprocesses would be liberally valued at another £100,000. As tothe alienated land, of which no use was made, and the theoreticalworth of runs, it is impossible to arrive at a valuation whichwould not appear absurdly high to some, and as ridiculously lowto others. At the close of 1859 the real prices were very muchunder what was asked and obtained in the latter end of 1860,which, in their turn, greatly increased in 1861. if I were totake the whole at half a million, it would be what, at the time Iam writing of, would have been found—a fair appraisement.In all, the actual wealth of the community then presentlyavailable was about four millions and a quarter sterling. For apopulation of 20,000 souls this could not be pronounced otherthan a fair condition for a starting point.

Agriculture was at an exceedingly low ebb. I do not think thatmore than 2,000 acres out of 80,000 alienated from the Crown wereunder cultivation.* Maize was the principal crop. Potatoes, andoats for hay were next, but at a long interval; and about a fifthof the whole area might be set down at what in England would becalled orchards, in which banana: occupied no small portion.There was a notion much encouraged in those days by leadingsquatters, whose interest might be supposed to have been promotedby the depreciation of agricultural settlement, that cultivationin Queensland must necessarily result in failure—especiallyas to cereal: and fruit and vegetables of Europeanorigin—and from constant reiteration it receivedconsiderable acceptance. In the two hotels, which accommodatedthe more exclusive visitors to Brisbane in 1859-60, aconsiderable portion of the vegetables used were imported fromSydney—certainly from an indolent acquiescence and not fromnecessity. As to cereals even in 1860 there were only eighteenacres of wheat in the Brisbane district, and not a single acreanywhere else. Agriculture, if not altogether despised, wasgenerally looked upon as, in the main, experimental, and theagriculturalist as an enthusiast or a weak-minded mistaken man"Farming will never pay" was the authoritative enunciation of thewise and prudent, and the babes received it with the submissionthat became them. I was visiting at a station on the DarlingDowns in 1860, and was much surprised and disappointed whenchatting in the evening with my hospitable host at being toldthat the fine country over which I had been riding was utterlyunsuitable for anything but grazing. "It will not grow acabbage." Taking an early stroll the following morning I found awell-kept garden, in which some fine cabbages were not the leastconspicuous objects, but on mentioning this at breakfast I wasassured that the growth was exceptional and expensive, and ifcabbage-growing could be done again, which was doubtful, it wouldnot be worth the doing. And this was the general burden of thesong. It is but two days since that we bought in Brisbane as finecabbages as cook would desire to see at little more than ahalfpenny each. Some of us had faith in vegetables in 1860; nowwe know them experimentally, which some colonial Tyndall mightclaim as a triumph of proof over belief; but then no shower oChinese gardeners had fallen upon the land.

[* On April 1, 1861, when a great start had beenmade, there were only 3,351 acres.]

The growth of the trade of the district is less easily tracedthan that of its population. The colonial Registrar-General in1860 regretted that he had "access to no reliable records of ourcommerce in former years," but as we have seen theCouriergave occasional statements, and as these were never effectivelychallenged, we are justified in accepting them as bases for ourestimates. The exports then may be calculated for the respectiveyears named in the following table at the values set againstthem—excluding those from the Clarence and Richmond, whichup to the issue of the Orders in Council constituting the newcolony were included in what were called the northerndistricts—

[* Probably from local causes, such asimpediments to traffic, including a large quantity of thepreceding year's produce.]

and the Statistical Register for the last month of 1839, whichwas the first of Sir George Bowen's governorship, gives the valueof the exports for that month at £50,738, of which 1,254 bales ofwool contributed £48,410; coal, to the East Indies, £330, andtimber £430. Taking the ratio of export value to population itwould seem to have been about £20 per head per annum. As to theimports I know of no means of obtaining any information.

In so small a community one would hardly expect to findbanking transactions on any but the smallest scale. Four Englishand New South Wales establishments had branches in thedistrict—the Bank of Australasia, the Union Bank ofAustralia, the Australian Joint Stock Bank, and the Bank of NewSouth Wales. The average note circulation of the whole may betaken at about £30,000; the deposits, £180,000; the liabilities,£357,000; the notes and bills and debts due, £390,000. The coinwas about £50,000, and the bullion, apparently,nil. TheBank of Australasia had the largest share of the business, theAustralian Joint Stock Bank, the Bank of New South Wales, and theUnion Bank of Australia following in due order. There wereoffices in Brisbane and Ipswich, those in the lattertown—in which at that time most business wastransacted—being finer buildings than in the capital, onwhich the Ipswichians congratulated themselves and lookedscornfully on the Brisbane claims. There are no returns whichshow the operation of the Act authorizing liens on stock or onwool, those effected in the district being registered in Sydneyup to the date of separation from New South Wales, as far as Ican learn.

There was not much room for the energies of the Protectionistin Queensland in December 1859. There were at that time foursteam sawmills, one soap manufactory (recorded as having made 5tons of soap in the year 1); one candle factory, which turned outfifty thousand pounds weight of candles; a struggling salt works;two coal mines, the output being about 5,000 tons, valued at£3,500; and a dugong fishery whose returns are not extant.Population was wanted to develop the resources of the country,and concerning the most effective methods of establishing aspeedy and useful immigration there was much discussion, and somecurious theories were propounded.

The system of civil government in the district at this timewas simple enough. The constitution had not, of course, come intodirect operation, and the departments were merely branches of thecentral government of New South Wales. Captain Wickham ruled overBrisbane and its connected districts; Captain O'Connell presidedat Gladstone over whatever was supposed to require supervision inthe district of Port Curtis. The number of employes did not thenform a subject of uneasiness to liberal politicians jealous forthe liberty of the subject. At the head office there was thesuperintendent and one clerk. The Crown lands found work for fivecommissioners and eight land agents; the survey office for sevensurveyors and one clerk and draughtsman. The Customs employed onesub-collector and four subordinates, and there was a board ofworks of two. The steam navigation board numbered six officialsand the immigration board three. The Botanic gardens wereentrusted to a committee of three and a superintendent. There wasone coroner to enquire into suspicious deaths, and two policemagistrates and twelve clerks of petty sessions to look after thesuspected amongst the living; while for every description ofultimate jurisdiction there was a judge of the Supreme Court andtwelve officials of various kinds. The post office did not tooseverely tax the energies of four departmental officers, twelvelocal postmasters, and two letter-carriers. The native policecorps seems to have been a favourite one with the Government ofNew South Wales. It had a commandant and a secretary, and itsfive divisions were thus officered:—Port Curtis andLeichhardt, a first lieutenant and six second lieutenants; WideBay and Burnett, a first and second lieutenant; Maranoa andCondamine, a first and two second lieutenants; and the MoretonBuy district one second lieutenant. Of the ordinary police I findeleven chief constables set down for various places, and Ibelieve the ordinary corps could not have mustered more thanthirty. The gaol required the services of five superiorofficials, two chaplains, and seven turnkeys. Two sheepinspectors were supposed to guard against disease and infectionin stock. Port Curtis had, besides Captain O'Connell, nineofficials, one being a police magistrate. The whole of theofficial staff was not much beyond a hundred. If my readers fearfor the protection of the country with so small an administrativecorps they may perhaps take heart at the cloud of magistrateswhich hovered over the land, for there were even then one hundredand fifty-three gentlemen on the commission of the peace.

It will be observed that this very moderate administrativestrength left a fine field for official organisation by the newGovernment. How this was taken advantage of will be seenhereafter. But the enthusiasts for further separation may derivea warning and a lesson from a comparison between the executivestrength of December, 1859, and that of December, 1860. To besure, there was not much activity to call forth the energies ofthe public service. The expenditure on public works of all kindscould not have been more than £10,000 in the eleven months beforeseparation, most of which seems to have been devoted to the gaol.The collection of the then taxes must have been easy. Spirits,wines, ale, porter, tea, sugar, treacle, molasses, coffee,chicory, cigars, tobacco, and snuff comprising all the dutiablearticles. The other sources of revenue were of a kind that werebrought, rather than collected. Altogether, there must have beena good deal of placid resignation, accompanied by an occasionalfolding of the hands and leisure for quiet introspection—ifthat were enjoyable—amongst the civil service of thosedays; and if its salaries had not attained the high level inwhich some of its members rejoice now, the duties werelight—the responsibilities, for the most part, nominal, andthe plague of ministerial supervision and patronage was as yetunknown.

The social condition of the people was, in great measure, whatone might suppose it would be, that of a quiet colonial countrylocality almost unexpectedly roused to a mild excitement by theprospect of capital, population, and enterprise, long worked forand wished for in vain. The course of life was monotonous, unlessa flood, or a drought, or an election disturbed it. Publicamusements, there were none, save such as might be derived fromthe infrequent visits of a stroller or two—more seldom, ofa musical star. A School of Arts, with a small, but good,library, was kept up in Brisbane with some success, and now andthen a lecturer drew a few people together, as much fromcuriosity as from taste. There was another institution of thekind lodged in a temporary building at Ipswich, and a feeblereflection at Toowoomba; and, moreover, there was a volunteermounted corps, whose evolutions certainly had the merit ofkeeping the spectators in good humour. As in most suchcommunities, there was a sort of sectional division; in this casehaving the superior portion of the official element—theleading squatters, the older professional men, the bank managers,some of the clergy, and one or two wholesale dealers on thehigher level. The middle stratum had its notabilities, andamongst these arose most of the disputes which occasionally, touse a now proverbial phrase, made things lively, when not variedby the eccentricities of lesser legal and clerical lights. Thegeneral mass were, for the most part, quiet in habit, moderate inexpense, and, earning good wages, while the cost of living waslow, had less ground for real, than imaginary, discontent.Leaving on one side those who found enjoyment in lowpleasures—and they were inconsiderable innumber—there must have been a good deal of self-containedlife in those days. In truth, there could have been little roomfor anything else. Travelling was slow, sometimes difficult,mostly expensive, and in wet weather well nigh impracticable. Iquestion whether, outside of Brisbane, there was a mile of roadin the colony—few of the creeks were bridged, and, in morethan one case, the bridge, however good in itself, wasunapproachable, unless by a long detour from the main track. Evenin Brisbane the streets, so called, were, in great part, passagesbetween allotments where, sometime or other, buildings werethought likely to be erected; and their surfaces were as soft astheir verdure was fresh. They did not need watering, for therewas no dust—the luxuries of which primitive condition, Isuppose, stimulated a candidate for aldermanic honours, somemonths afterwards, when increasing traffic had made the roadsmore friable, to recommend that they should be laid with turf toprevent the spread of the nascent nuisance—and the newmunicipality had not commenced the work of road formation. Aswere the ways of the metropolis, so were those of the interiortownships, with a plentiful admixture of stumps. Intercoursebetween the interior and the coast towns was, in great part,dependent upon the weather, because of the difficultiespresented, not only by the usual tracks and by swollen creeks,but by the passage of the Great Dividing Range and its spurs; atwhose base or summit, teams have been kept for months unable tostart upon the ascent or descent. There was, in fact, everymotive existent for the colonist to seek his amusement at home,not the least being, sometimes, the impossibility of getting faraway from it; and, sometimes, the improbability of finding anyimprovement in his lot by going farther. The arrival or departureof the steamer from or to Sydney—especially thearrival—was a periodical source of amusement in Brisbane,at least to the people, but the passengers occasionally viewedthe matter in a different light. A trip, now and then, on theriver afforded a little variety; omnibuses and cabs being thenunknown. One source of amusement, however, existed in thenewspapers, whose weekly or tri-weekly issues were eagerly lookedfor. There was only one in Brisbane—the oldCourier—whose politics at the time were professedlyliberal, which meant anti-squatting, in the district, and of theManchester school in other respects. It neither meddled, norassumed to meddle, with literature, properly so called, and as toecclesiastical matters, seemed to have inherited the feelingsprevalent when—

Oyster women locked their fish up,
And trudged away to cry no bishop.

TheNorth Australian at Ipswich, fierce in defence ofits own town, and defiant of opposition, was, nevertheless,menaced by the rivalry of theHerald, in the formation ofwhich Mr. Macalister and some pastoral friends took a leadingpart; and at Drayton theDarling Downs Gazette sneered atthe shopkeepers below the range, and advocated the claims of thesquatters. The principal peculiarity attached to this lastjournal at the time was the curious nature of itsaccommodation—a wooden shanty elevated on some piles, apartfrom the few houses of the place, and where the music of thewaving trees and the trickling waters of a creek: below werefavourable to meditation, if not to comfort.

Of art there was nothing to notice; no one looked for it, andno one was disappointed. There had been neither call nor room forits development. One exception might have been found in thelittle Roman Catholic Chapel at Brisbane, which possessed somereal character in the later pointed style. Nevertheless, it wascurrently believed that there were "fine buildings," and atraveller desirous of peace would not have ventured to disturbthe belief. No auctioneer offered pictures which, supposing themto have been genuine, would have been priceless, and "chromos"and oleographs, and the photograph in its more modern aspect,were all unknown. TheIllustrated News supplied, at once,art and criticism for the people.

The community was not a litigious one. I remember only six orseven solicitors in the Moreton Bay district, and, generally,legal proceedings were carried on with a great deal of goodhumour on all sides, except when the payment of costs ruffled thesurfaces and, still more, the depths below. There was not morethan the average of criminality, when we consider the specialclass from which it principally arose. 217 werecommitted—mostly for minor offences—during the year1859; of whom, 7 were minors, 117 could not read, 6 had beenconvicted once before 16 twice, and 39 three times or more. AtMichaelmas, 1859, there were only 32 in confinement, all of whomhad been tried—11 for felonies. As to the physical healthof the people, I have scarcely any available record to turn to.There were only two hospitals in the colony—one inBrisbane, and one in Maryborough—both sustained byGovernment grants, by voluntary subscriptions, and by a portionof the fines received at some police courts. At the Brisbaneinstitution, 176 patients were admitted during the year, 24seeming the average number of inmates; while at Maryborough, 14and 4 were the numbers respectively. I think there were onlythree or four medical men in Brisbane, including the hospitalsurgeon; two in Ipswich, two or three on the Darling Downs, andone in Maryborough. Accident, more than disease, was the sourceof practice, and there were no earth-closets and no boards ofhealth to squabble over their unsavory merits or defects.

The educational system, inherited by the colony from New SouthWales, was, to a small extent, on what was called the Nationalsystem, under a Board incorporated by the Act, 11 Vic., No. 48,the preamble whereof recited the desirability of "establishingschools to be conducted under Lord Stanley's system of Nationaleducation." The regulations issued by the Board were not veryvoluminous; the books directed to be used seem to have beensimilar to those of the Irish National Schools, including foursets of Scripture lessons, and lessons on the truths ofChristianity; and for reading these, or for direct religiousinstruction by ministers of religion, one hour each day wasdirected to be set apart. I find no reference to matters specialto Australia, to whose geographical and physical characteristicsit appears to hive been thought unnecessary to refer. Theexpenses of the National schools were defrayed partly by theState, and partly by school fees and subscriptions, the strikingpeculiarity in this part of the arrangement being the miserablestipends paid to the teachers. Working contemporaneously withthis system, was a denominational one, in which the teachers'salaries were supplemented by the State, but the teacher seems tohave been more at the discretion of the authorities of thedenomination under whose supervision the school immediately was,provided a certain degree of efficiency were kept up. TheNational system had not attained any great degree of publicfavour, for I gather from the statistics for 1859, that therewere in the new colony at the time of its creation, six schoolsconnected with the Church of England, attended by 337 scholars;four in connection with the Church of Rome, whose scholars were354; one National school at the little village—if villageit could be called—of Drayton, with 78 scholars; and thirtyprivate schools, which obtained between them 698 pupils. In all,1,517 children were taught in the different schools, and of thatnumber all but 180 belonged to the towns. The ratio of attendanceI am, from the absence of statistics, unable to give. The generalprevalence of the denominational system spoke well for theexertions of those in the churches with whom the primary stepsfor the establishment of schools rested—they began well;the future, at least with respect to the Church of England, hadto tell a very different tale.

I now come to a division of my subject, into which I have gonemore particularly than may appear necessary to some of myreaders; but I found in the course of my enquiries for therequisite facts that they were to be collected from such avariety of sources, were so scattered, and, in consequence, solittle known, and, when known, lightly appreciated, that it wasindispensable, if anything approaching to an intelligent anduseful account was to be arrived at, to deal with the subjectwith more than usual care, and in more than usual detail. I havenever met with a connected history of religious progress inQueensland, or any effort at tracing its rise, and to this thedifficulty of getting at the facts, as well as of discriminatingbetween different versions of the same fact, may in no smalldegree have tended. I venture to think that the neglect which hasbeen betrayed by some, to whom the subject might be supposed tolegitimately belong, and the virulent partizanship of others,have contributed largely to the mingled ignorance andindifference with which these important matters are often treatedin this colony. I have, therefore, endeavoured to arrive at aclear apprehension of the religious condition of the community in1859, and of the origin and progress of its different churchesand denominations amongst us; so that, at least, some of thereproach which attaches to an indolent non-appreciation should bewiped away.

Undoubtedly that condition was one, as exhibited in thecontemporaneous statistics, to excite considerable surprise. Outof a population of 25,020, the number of attendants on divineservice was set down at 3,523,* and this was dividedinto—Wesleyans, 875; Church of Rome, 745; Church ofEngland, 643; Presbyterians, 460; Baptists, 325;Congregationalists, 250; and Lutherans, 230. Eighteen churchesand chapels are enumerated, most of them recently builtstructures of wood, of an exceedingly primitive and unsubstantialkind, and where these were not forthcoming court-houses andschool-rooms, not more solid or attractive, were used instead. Inthe whole district there were sixteen clergymen of variousdenominations. The figures I quote from show only the conditionof the townships; of services in the bush, on the stations, andat mere outside places I have found no reliable record, andindeed they must have been from the small number of ministers,irregular and infrequent.

[* Queensland Statistics, December, 1859.]

The population returns are in direct contrariety to those ofreligious attendance. At least, one-third of the whole numberwere nominally members of the Church of England, a fourth RomanCatholics, about 13 per cent. Presbyterians, the Wesleyans comingnext. Yet the Wesleyans ranked the highest in the scale ofreligious activity—not a very creditable fact to theprincipal churches, even giving due weight to the concentrationof congregations in townships, whence it arose that 630 of theWesleyan worshippers were set down for Brisbane alone.

State endowments for religious purposes were recognized by theLegislation of New South Wales at the time in force in MoretonBay, and applied according to a system embodied in a series ofacts known as Sir Richard Bourke's Acts, passed in 1836-7. SirRichard, who assumed the Governorship of the colony in 1831, wasnot long in finding that the jealousies of different churches anddenominations, as well as the injustice which had from time totime followed upon the whims and caprices of some of hispredecessors, were likely to be productive of serious evils, andthat the exclusive connection of the State with any particularchurch was, in the local circumstances of the day, altogether outof the question. A man of distinguished intellectual powers,great administrative ability, and unswerving integrity andindependence, he was the ablest statesman the colonies have yetseen as a Governor.** After two years' deliberation he laidbefore the Imperial Government a scheme for the settlement of thequestion, which in due time met with approval, and was soon afterbrought into operation by the General Churches Act (7 Wm. 4, No.2, N.S.W.), passed in 1836. By this Act aid was authorized to begranted to churches and religious bodies who might desire it inthe following way:—

[** Sir Richard was by descent in a collateralline connected with the celebrated Edmund Burke, and was markedby much similarity of character to that of that illustrious man,four volumes of whose correspondence with the leading statesmenof his day Sir Richard edited in conjunction with, I think, thelate Earl Fitzwilliam.]

Towards the erection of churches, chapels, or Ministers'dwellings, in sums equal to private contributions up to £1000 ineach case.

Towards the stipend of a minister of religion—vestedinterests in stipends being had regard to—if there were aresident population of 100 adults subscribing a declaration of adesire to attend his church, £100 per annum; if there were 200such adults, £200; if 500 such adults, £300. When no church orchapel existed it was to be discretional in the Government to payany sum not exceeding £100 in aid of private contributions,which, however, were not to be less than £50.

Trustees were to be appointed to hold the real estate and toreceive and account for moneys issued under the Act.

Free sittings for the poor to the extent of one-fourth of thewhole were to be reserved in every church or chapel.

Subsequently the requirements of different churches led tosupplementary legislation to meet them in accordance with thespecialities of their organization; but before describing howthis was effected it is necessary to enter more fully into theearly history of each of the various churches and denominations,which, so far as I am enabled, I proceed to do in the order oftheir seniority or proportion to population.

The Church of England was planted in Australia in anuncongenial soil and in troublous times. In the year 1793, eightyears after the establishment of the convict settlement underCaptain Phillip in Port Jackson, some people in England, amongstwhom was the celebrated William Wilberforce, bethought themselvesthat when no provision had been made for religious ordinances orinstruction in a professedly reformatory system something hadbeen forgotten; and, as in a community of criminals and gaolers,the voluntary principle was not likely to meet with much support,the Government of the day were urged to make some effort towardssupplying the deficiency. But that Government, occupied by thetroubles and cost of the first French revolutionary war, and itis to be supposed not unaffected by the general religiousindifference of the times, could only offer to provide for twochaplains on an economical or rather parsimonious scale. Thusmuch achieved, a new difficulty arose. At first no one at allsuitable for such an appointment could be induced to accept it,and after one was found his coadjutor was not forthcoming. Atthis time, however, there was at St. John's College, Cambridge, ayoung student waiting for holy orders named Samuel Marsden, inall time to come to be inseparably identified with thecommencement of Maori civilization in New Zealand. Marsden wasthe son of a Yorkshire farmer of small means, by whom he had beensent to the free Grammar School at Hull. On leaving this he wasstarted in life as a tradesman in Leeds, but his vivacity andclearness of intellect had gained for him the notice of a societycalled the Elland Society, formed to aid in the education for theministry of young men of limited means, but of exceptionally goodcharacter and ability, and of which Wilberforce, Simeon, andThornton were prominent members. By this Society he was sent toSt. John's, where he was waiting for his degree, when, at thesuggestion of Mr. Wilberforce, one of the proposed chaplaincieswas offered to him. He at first shrank from it, but no one beingfound to take the place, he undertook its duties, and in thespring of 1793 was ordained. Shortly afterwards, being thentwenty-nine years of age, he married and started for hisdestination. He soon had a foretaste of what he was to encounterin the opposition made to the performance of his ministerialduties, by the master of the convict ship in which he took hisvoyage, and when he had some experience in the new settlement,then governed by Captain Hunter, he discovered that thatforetaste was but a mild indication of what he had to undergo.His fellow-chaplain, after having had his house burned down inreturn for his services, abandoned the task in despair. Hunterhimself found the state of things so unendurable that he returnedto England in—the year 1800 to attempt the attainment ofsome reform, but he did not come back to the colony, nor do Ithink that he met with much sympathy at home. His successor,Captain King, encountered like evils and difficulties, and on hisreturn to England in, I believe, 1806, Marsden, who foresaw theresults of the condition which culminated afterwards in therevolt against, and deposition of, Governor Bligh by his ownofficers, accompanied him in the hope of obtaining someamelioration and improvement. The utmost he could then secure wasthat the convicts should be taught trades, and that threechaplains and two schoolmasters should be sent back with him. Anyother suggestions, especially in a moral or educationaldirection, were rejected as enthusiastic or visionary by thepractical men of the day. Yet, at that time there were probably10,000 inhabitants, mostly convicts, or, too frequently when notso, very little better, in New South Wales.

In another direction he was successful beyond his hopes, and,as I have said in an early chapter of this history, is entitledto share with Macarthur the honour generally claimed solely forhim of laying the foundation of the growth of the great stapleexport of the Australian colonies—wool. What he valued morewas that the profit from his farseeing enterprise helped, in nosmall degree, to supply means for carrying into effect hisschemes for the improvement of the prisoners, and the promotionof his missionary enterprises in New Zealand, which he at thistime originated. Into the history of his efforts in thatdirection, his various trials and considerable success, thenature of this work precludes me from entering. In the opinion ofthose capable of judging, he is declared to have been a worthypredecessor of the great and good Selwyn. What is there to beadded of eulogy to such praise?

It was not long after his return to New South Wales that hefound himself in collision with Governor Macquarie, who, fortwelve years, ruled the colony with vigour, not infrequentlydiverging into despotism. He would have been ecclesiasticaldirector, as well as civil superior, and often endeavoured tointerfere in religious matters over which he had no rightfulcontrol. These attempts were steadfastly resisted by Marsden,who, at the same time, saw much to be dissatisfied with in theway in which Macquarie too frequently postponed moral reform tomere material prosperity in his estimate of the character of hishybrid population. And Macquarie was not one to tolerateopposition. A system of detraction and abuse on his part, and, atlast, of direct accusation by himself, resulted in the issue oftwo commissioners from England, from whose enquiries Marsden cameout, not only with acquittal, but with approval and reward. Hedid not escape disagreement with Governor Brisbane, but afterthat governor's recall lived in peace and honour, and to the endin useful activity until May 23, 1838, when, after nearly half acentury of ministerial and missionary labour, he died at Windsor,in New South Wales. Forty years afterwards I heard him spoken ofwith affectionate respect by some whose age was such that, intheir early days, they had participated in a kindness which theystill appreciated, while they remembered a goodness which theyhad not forgotten to reverence.

But, before his death, Marsden had one great wish gratified,and it befel thus: In the year 1813, the exertions of Wilberforceand his friends had enlisted the public interest in the conditionof the East Indian possessions of Great Britain, and theresponsibility of the Church of England with regard to them. In1814 the first Bishop of Calcutta—Thomas Fanshaw Middleton,beforetime Archdeacon of Huntington—was appointed, notwithout many misgivings, on the part of that excellent man, as tohis ability to discharge the duties of so novel and so arduous aposition. He was to be assisted by three archdeacons, one in eachof the cities of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. In 1821, as Icollect, he received a petition from Marsden, bringing before himthe requirements of New South Wales; and arrangements were madefor the establishment of an archdiaconate of Australia insubordination to the See of Calcutta. The Bishop dying in 1822,there arose some delay in making the necessary appointment, andit was not until 1825 that the Reverend Thomas Hobbes Scottreceived it; but of the character or results of hisadministration, I have no record. He was succeeded in 1829 or1830, by Archdeacon, afterwards Bishop, Broughton, a man of soundjudgment, an ardent churchman, but with greater liberality offeeling than he has been generally credited, and, withal, ofquiet sustained energy and determination ofpurpose—qualities all called into action by thetransitional circumstances of the times, and by the discontentfelt at the special advantages then accorded to the Church ofEngland. He was fortunate in that the inevitable changes were, soto speak, in the hands of Sir R. Bourke. Partly in connectionwith these matters, and, partly, in consequence of theinconvenience and increasing inadequacy of the then episcopalarrangements, Archdeacon Broughton found it necessary to visitEngland in 1835, when it was determined to create an AustralianSee, of which he was consecrated the first bishop, in February,1836. Some of Marsden's friends complained that he was passed by,but the good old man, then more than seventy years of age,participated in no such vain regrets. He knew that the fullestpossible vigour, both of mind and body, is required in ourcolonial episcopate, especially in the formation and settlementof new dioceses, and that an infirm frame and enfeebled intellectare poor endowments for the performance of the duties which thatwork entails.

The reader will have observed that, subsequently to thepassing of the General Churches Act, supplementary legislationwas found necessary to meet the special requirements of theseveral ecclesiastical bodies interested in it. That legislationwas in 1859, and, in part, is at present in force in the colony;and it may be as well at this stage to recapitulate, as brieflyas possible, its principal provisions as respects the AnglicanChurch in Queensland.

The Acts in which they are embodied are technically known asthe 8 Wm. IV., No. 5, N.S.W., 1837, and the 21 Vic., No. 4,N.S.W., 1857. The first Act empowers any person or personsproviding at his or their own expense a church or chapel approvedby the bishop of the diocese, or any minister's dwelling, glebeland, or burial ground, to nominate five persons as trusteesthereof; or any number of persons subscribing not less than threehundred pounds towards such purposes to elect like trustees bythe voting qualification—until, in the case of a church orchapel, the completion of the building—being a subscriptionof not less than £1, and the perpetual one for the trusteeshipmembership of the church—the member frequenting its publicservices and not being known publicly to impugn any of itsdoctrines." A trustee absent from the colony for six monthscontinuously, or becoming insolvent, or "disqualified ashereinbefore mentioned"—I presume by cessation ofmembership or by impugning the doctrines of the church—wasto be removed by the remaining trustees, and the vacancy was thento be filled up in like manner as in the first nomination orelection—supposing the church or chapel to be stillincomplete. If it were finished the elective right was vested inthe pew-holders, renters, and annual contributors, being membersof the church one-sixth of the sittings in any church or chapelbeing reserved as free, The pew-holders and renters were to haveas many votes, not exceeding six, as they held or rented seats,the contributors one vote for every pound sterling subscribed.The same constituency was to elect the churchwardens at theannual Easter meeting. Power was reserved to the "Bishop ofAustralia" to be the sole trustee of any church property and inthe event of non-election, to nominate churchwardens; anddirection were laid clown for the regulation of elections, forthe keeping and auditing of trustees and churchwardens' accounts;for provision for the maintenance of buildings, and "for the dueand orderly celebration of public worship and the administrationof the sacraments" in accordance with the ceremonial anddiscipline agreed to in the Synod of London of 1603, as well asfor sundry minor matters with which it is unnecessary to troublethe reader. When any glebe became likely to yield more than £150per annum the trustees were empowered to lease it for any termnot exceeding twenty-eight years, and to apply theproceeds—after securing the incumbent £150 perannum—for purposes of church extension generally. By thesubsequent Act of 1857 the maximum term was very injudiciouslylengthened to ninety years—a most absurd provision in acolony in which not infrequently a quarter of the periodquadruples the value of property, and one which has been almostfraudulently taken advantage of to the damage of the Church butto great private emolument in New South Wales. The same Actforbade the mortgaging or encumbering the property of the Church,and the trustees were directed to furnish annual accounts ofreceipt and expenditure to the bishop of the diocese.

The value of legislation must be collected from its results,and to those which followed that which I have described I shallhave hereafter to refer. But, despite the impediments thrown inhis way by the Act of 1837, Bishop Broughton worked with energy,and, indeed, with no small measure of success, insomuch that in afew years' time he found himself in a position to recommend are-arrangement of his diocese, by which two new bishoprics wouldbe created; and he offered, in order to facilitate this beingdone, to give up a fourth of his own salary towards theirsupport. Accordingly, in June 1847, his desire was fulfilled inthe consecration of Dr. Perry as Bishop of Melbourne, and of Dr.Tyrell as Bishop of Newcastle—the latter including, withother of the northern portions of New South Wales, the districtof Moreton Bay. In fifteen years the Anglican Church increasedunder Bishop Broughton's administration from an archdeacon withfifteen chaplains and three catechists to three bishops with anarchdeacon and sixty clergymen, and it was not always good groundon which the sower went forth to sow.

Moreton Bay as an entirely outside district was for some yearsleft very much to itself, but when Captain Wickham came, in 1842,to take the civil government, Bishop Broughton sent the Rev. JohnGregor with him, who found a scattered and not very sympathizingflock. He was bred originally in the Presbyterian Church, hissecession from which exposed him to much unmerited vituperationfrom Dr. Lang, who accused him of being actuated by mercenarymotives. If the work he came to satisfied him the work he left,must have been the very wretchedness of penury. He at first heldoccasional services in the room formerly used as a chapel in theold convict barracks, and subsequently in an abandoned prisoners'workshop, which the Bishop leased at a shilling per annum for thepurpose. There being no residence, he took lodgings in theMoravian Missionary Station, not far from Brisbane, and thencestarted on many a weary journey, in the performance of hisduties, in the bush and at the squatting stations formed at thetime. His was a position of toil and privation, not unmixed withpersonal danger, obscure and poorly paid, and productive less ofthanks than of disappointment and mortification.

After four years of continuous and harassing work, Mr. Gregorwas accidently drowned while bathing in a waterhole at theMoravian Station, and news of the sad occurrence met Dr. Tyrrellon his arrival at Sydney, on his way to take charge of hisdiocese—a diocese which, thenceforward, he may be saidnever to have left, and which will ever remain indebted to hispowerful intellect, unwearied energy, and nobledisinterestedness, during an episcopate of thirty-two years. Heat once sent the Rev. B. Glennie—now ArchdeaconGlennie—to take Mr. Gregor's place. During his residence inBrisbane, and in 1849, the Rev. I. Bodenham, then livingtemporarily at what is now the suburb of Kangaroo Point,collected money for the erection of the old wooden church in thatlocality, and it was opened about September in the same year.From the ill-kept records of St. John's (the mother church of thediocese), and from such other information as I have been able tocollect, Mr. Glennie must have left for the Darling Downssometime in (?) July, 1850, the Rev. John Wallace taking hisplace for Brisbane and Ipswich. This gentleman is recorded tohave presided at a meeting of the church in August of that year;after which time, I find no entry until November 8, 1851; but,from other sources, I gather that the Rev. H. O. Irwin tookcharge of Brisbane in 1851 or 1852; Mr. Wallace being transferredto Ipswich, where a temporary wooden building had been, or wasabout to be, built. At what date Mr. Irwin's connection with theparish ceased, I am unable to find; but in an entry of a meetingon February 7, 1856, the name of the Rev. — Yeatman occurs;and he appears to have continued at St. John's until September,1858, when he left the district. Mr. Wallace had preceded him inDecember, 1851, and was succeeded by the late Rev. John Moseley,who, throwing his whole soul into his parochial work, was theprincipal instrument in procuring the erection of the large,though not very ecclesiastical looking, church of St. Paul's isIpswich. On Mr. Yeatman leaving, Mr. Moseley was transferred toBrisbane, being succeeded in Ipswich by the Rev. L. H. Rumsey;and at the date at which this portion of this history terminates,the services of the three clergymen seem to have been thusdistributed:—Mr. Mosely had charge of the Brisbanedistrict, in which was included, besides the duties at St.John's, occasional services in the buildings which accommodatedboth congregations and scholars in Fortitude Valley, SouthBrisbane,* and, I presume, when he could find time, at KangarooPoint as well; Mr. Rumsey attended to St. Paul's, Ipswich, andthe districts around that town; while Mr. Glennie travelled overthe Darling Downs, his district including Drayton and Toowoomba,Dalby, Leyburn, and Warwick—an area of at least 8,000square miles. This memoir would be exceedingly imperfect were Inot to record my admiration of the unostentatious unceasinglabours of Mr. Glennie, who, colporteur, schoolmaster, andpriest, walked and rode, with pack well stored with the books hethought most likely to be useful, many thousands of miles in thecourse of his long, unassisted, and solitary ministrations overthat large extent of territory, labouring alike for the presentand the future, and, on his retirement, carrying with him theaffectionate respect of those most familiar with his self-denyingunselfish toil, and his kindly simple advocacy of the cause heloved so well. It is proper also to mention the aid frequentlygiven, in Brisbane and its vicinity, by the Rev. R. Creyke, atthe time too invalided to take a regular cure—but nowincumbent of the suburban parish of Toowong.

[* Both the buildings, wonderfully unlovely intheir way, seem to have been put up in 1857.]

I do not, in the slightest degree, infer any want ofearnestness or ability in the clergymen who successivelyattempted to minister to the congregations of the Anglican Churchduring the period over which I have gone, when I admit that theresult of their labours in the Moreton Bay district appears tohave been far from successful. The imperfect nature of the ChurchActs greatly contributed to cripple their efforts. In prescribingthe voting qualifications, those acts exhibit a temporizingtimidity, significant of changing and uncertain times, of whichindifference was a prominent characteristic. When they suppliedno readily available corrective for any breach of their ownprovisions, or of the internal laws of the body to which theywere intended to apply, their inevitable tendency to subordinatethe collective church to the individual congregation becameexceedingly mischievous. Their framer had, no doubt, to someextent, the disciplinary powers of the mother church impressedupon his mind, but he did not give due weight to the alteredcircumstances around him, which, in great measure, neutralisedtheir operation; neither did he attempt to supply the deficiencythus created, and it is quite possible that the excellentprelate, who seems to have exerted himself in procuring thislegislation, was unacquainted with the technicalities which werenecessary to carry his intentions fully into effect. It is easyto see what the real purpose of these acts was; it is equallyapparent that the machinery provided was inadequate to theproposed end.

But whatever might have been the imperfections of the law, theobedience rendered to it in the Moreton Bay district wasintermittent and desultory. The notions generally entertained asto what the real doctrines or discipline of the Anglican Churchmight be were exceedingly vague, while the intense localismincidental to small communities had generated a spirit adverse toits constitution. Its members became impressed with a sense ofresponsibility which sometimes exhibited itself in rathereccentric directions. For all practical purposes the canons of1603 might as well have been the Institutes of Justinian, and hadany priest of the church attempted in 1859 to impose thethirtieth upon his congregation, they would have stopped theirears with their fingers and fled. But too often in the zeal todiscuss theology, plain, administrative duties were forgotten,and the haste to criticise was more apparent than the criticalfaculty or the knowledge essential to its beneficial employment.The minister became less a teacher than a candidate for approval,and churchwardens and trustees forgot their minute-books andtheir accounts to rush into controversy over offertories andresponses with their Bishop. The records directed to be kept bythe Church Acts were scandalously neglected, even in churches ofmetropolitan pretensions. In one case I found a period of fouryears without a minute; in another a period of two, while not avestige of account was discoverable amongst the records of thechurch, and the visitations of the Bishop were not only leftwithout specific notice, but were not even alluded to. Whateverany minister might have attempted, it appears to me that, as tothe other officers of the church, "there being no king in Israel,every man did that which was right in his own eyes," the naturalresult being that in most cases every man thought all other menmore or less in the wrong.

To a church thus disorganized was appointed, as the firstAnglican Bishop in Queensland, the Right Reverend Edward WyndhamTuffnell, of Wallham College, Oxon, a man of old family andconsiderable attainments, and a Prebendary of Salisbury. He cameto exchange for a life of learned leisure and dignifiedassociation, under the shadow and amidst the eloquent, thoughsilent, grandeur of one of England's most magnificent cathedrals,an existence embittered by a covert hostility, exhibited inlittle suspicions and insulting insinuation. I have said inQueensland, because the boundaries of the colony and of Dr.Tuffnell's diocese were not co-terminous. At the creation of thediocese of Newcastle its northern limit was found at the 21stparallel of latitude, the western at 141° E. longitude; theletters patent creating the new diocese limited it to suchportions of that of Newcastle as was comprised within theboundaries of the new colony, and hence it followed that all ofQueensland beyond the old diocese was left under theecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishop of Sydney—anarrangement subsequently productive of great inconvenience.However, for this there was no remedy, and under thecircumstances I have described the Anglican Church awaited itsreorganization and its head.

I regret that I could not obtain the information necessary toenable me to give as detailed an account of the establishment ofthe Roman Catholic Church in Moreton Bay as I desired. I gatherfrom theCourier that in 1846 one priest had been senthere whose name does not appear, but that he was a man ofconsiderable energy I should infer from the commencement of achapel in 1848. The ministrations of whatever clergy were hereseem to have been uneventful, and the peace of the church,undisturbed by internal dissension, although the spirit oflocalism was said to have been stronger than in later days, wasthought consistent with ecclesiastical discipline. The lateArchbishop Polding visited the district in September, 1858, butthe journals of the day make no special mention of the causes orresults of his visitation; in fact, I do not think that RomanCatholicism found much favor in the eyes of the newspapers ofthose times. In 1859 there were two clergy here—the VeryReverend. Dean Rigny—one of a class now well nigh extinct,mingling with not a little of the polish of the old French Abbe,a frank and kindly courtesy that won the hearts of all who camein contact with him—was resident in Brisbane. FatherM'Ginty, an active, energetic, warm-hearted priest, of adifferent type, was devoting himself to his duties—not theleast being the erection of a chapel somewhat in advance of theordinary taste of the times—at Ipswich, and in the interiordistricts to the west of that town. Both of them were popular,and from what I remember of the circumstances and the people, Ishould say, deservedly so. Their church was, from itsconstitution, left unfettered by special legislation, but partookof the advantages offered by the General Churches Act, and at thetime of separation were each left in receipt from the state of£150 a year. In view of the new colony a diocese of concurrentextent had been created, to which the late Right Reverend JamesO'Quinn had been nominated Bishop, of whom, as he did not arriveuntil some months after the new Government began, I defer furthermention.

The settlement of the Scottish Presbyterian Church inQueensland may be traced to three sources. In the parent colonyof New South Wales a variety of causes, detailed at some lengthin Dr. Lang's history of New South Wales, led to the existence atthis time of three Synods: the Synod of Australia, connected withthe Established Church of Scotland; the Synod of EasternAustralia, erected by the Free Church party in the colony inconnection with that church in the old country; and the Synod ofNew South Wales, called into existence by Dr. Lang, when hedisavowed the Established Church, and held himself aloof from, orwas held at arms length by, the church of the secession. It isunnecessary to detail the disputes and troubles that perplexedthose times, and did little credit to the controversialists;whoever has a taste for that peculiar sort of polemics will findin the history I have alluded to a pungent enough description ofthe whole—of course from the writer's own point ofview—which I do not think it necessary to repeat orabridge.

The branch of the Established Church of Scotland in Australiawas, as regards all grants made to it from the State, placedunder the operation of the General Churches Act before referredto. But, subsequently to the passing of that Act it was, as inthe case of the Anglican Church, found necessary to adopt speciallegislation adapted to its circumstances and ecclesiasticalpeculiarities. By the 8 Wm. IV., No. 7, more detailed provisionwas made than had before been for the nomination of trustees ofproperty or moneys given to, or held for, the Church; fordefining the manner in which the trusts created shall befulfilled, and for otherwise regulating the temporal affairs ofchurches, chapels, and ministers' dwellings over which the thenPresbytery had or might have control. Without repeating thetechnicalities of this Act—in many respects similar tothose of the Anglican Act before cited—I may note that theminister in each case might be present and vote at the meeting oftrustees; that land appertaining to any church or chapel might,under certain conditions, be let on twenty-eight years' leases,provided that £150 a year was reserved oat of the income for theminister, and if he resided on the land a portion not exceedingone-fifth of the area in addition; and that the powers and dutiesof the trustees were specifically confined to the temporalmatters connected with the church or chapel in connection withwhich they were appointed. In 1840, when the Presbytery wasconverted into the Synod of Australia, a further Act—the 4Victoria, No. 18—was passed, by which the powers beforegiven to the Presbytery were transferred to the Synod, andpractically all State aid to the Church made contingent onconformity to the legislation then adopted. Under this Synod theRev. W. L. Nelson, D.D.,* was, in 1859, minister of the ScottishChurch of St. Stephen's, Ipswich, he having taken charge of thedistrict in 1853, and he received, I believe, £150 per annum inaid of his stipend.

[* To whose kindness I am indebted for much ofthe information given on this subject.]

The Synod of Eastern Australia—i.e., the FreeChurch—was represented in 1859 by the Rev. C. Ogg, whoofficiated at the church in Ann-street, of the date of whosesettlement here I have no record, but who still lives and laboursamongst us.

The Synod of New South Wales had, in 1859, tworepresentatives—one Mr. J. Kingsford, who seems to have hada church and small congregation at Warwick, and the other, a Mr.G. Wagner, who is described in the statistics as an "itinerating"minister. The life of this sprout from the Presbyterian stemseems to have been weakly, and its comprehensiveness far beyondits strength; accordingly, in due time, it became defunct.

Judging by the statistics of attendance the ScottishPresbyterian Church seems to have retained its hold upon thepeople who came from the land of its birth;—principally ofa class whom Dr. Tulloch would net have been much in love with,although he might have admired their consistency even in thehatred of whistle kists and the preference of precentors. On thedoctrines taught I am neither qualified or called upon to saymore than that, at that time at least, the hearers appeared torejoice in an orthodoxy and hatred of Erastianism on one side,and of Roman Catholicism and prelacy on the other, sufficient tomeet the requirements of the strictest presbytery of the oldnursery of Calvanism. What some might consider their narrownessin theology did not nevertheless prevent their forming a veryvaluable section in the general community.

The Wesleyan Church showed its usual activity from the firstin the Moreton Bay district. So early as the year 1846 the Rev.Wm. Moore was on a mission here, but after a time was succeededby the Rev. — Lightbody. In 1848 it was stated in theAustralian, Circuit Record that a small chapel had been erectedby Mr. George Little, on leasehold ground in North Brisbane, andthat three allotments had been granted as sites for a chapel, aschoolroom, and a minister's dwelling—I presume the groundat the angle of Albert and Adelaide streets, Brisbane, on whichthe principal chapel now stands. The official report for 1848-9stated that the attendance was good, that the building was alwaysfilled, and sometimes crowded, and that a Sunday-school of fortychildren had been established. In 1850 the Rev. John Watsford wasappointed to the ministry in Moreton Bay; how long he remained Iknow not, but I infer that he had some assistance, since serviceswere held at Ipswich and at the German Station, as well as atBrisbane. At this date all the Wesleyan circuits were missionstations under the English Wesleyan Foreign Missionary Society,but in 1855 the whole of the circuits in Australasia, NewZealand, and the South Sea Islands were formed into a Conference,affiliated to the British Conference. The return from Moreton Bayto the new Conference showed that there were then three churches,forty-two preaching places, and two Sunday-schools in thedistrict, in which five ministers and assistant ministers and tenteachers ministered to six hundred hearers and one hundred andtwenty scholars. I am unable to give the names of theirsuccessors up to 1859, but at the end of that year the ColonialStatistics enumerate three ministers:—the Rev. SamuelWilkinson, who preached at Albert-street church, and is recordedto have "held service at seven other places;" the Rev. WilliamCurnow, whose church was in Limestone-street, Ipswich; and theRev. Wm. Fallon, who was stationed at Warwick. The number ofpersons generally attending is set down at 675, but no mention ismade of assistant ministers, Sunday-schools, teachers, orscholars, nor am I sure that the statistics are to be implicitlyrelied upon. It is however certain that the condition of thechurch was solid and prosperous, as the astonishing advances madeduring the next five or six years assuredly showed.*

[* For the most valuable portion of theinformation I have been able to record I am indebted to thecourtesy of the Rev. F. T. Brentnall, who took some trouble inpreparing the notes from which it has been compiled.]

There is an old proverb that "poverty makes men acquaintedwith strange bedfellows," and the circumstances attendant uponthe early settlement of the Baptists in Queensland, to someextent, illustrate it, although it might seem that theco-operative spirit displayed in the first instance wassubsequently, at least for a time, lost sight of in what wastermed the genuineness of church membership. Be that as it may,the series of events is too valuable as showing the spirit of thetimes to be omitted from this record.

Before the arrival of the shipFortitude, in 1849,there were only two Baptists in Brisbane, but with that vesselcame the Reverend Charles Stewart—himself a Baptistminister, and about five other members of the same denomination.These, with a like number of Independents and Presbyterians,formed a small but united congregation, of which Mr. Stewartbecame the pastor, who held their services in the oldCourt-house, in Brisbane, whose varying transformations I havedescribed, and the use of which was granted by Captain Wickhamfor the purpose. The congregation grew and prospered under Mr.Stewart's care, and in time £113 was collected, with which apiece of land was bought fronting William-street and running backto George-street, as a site for a chapel, and a further sum of£600 was then raised, which was applied to the erection on partof the ground of the first and, as it proved, the last church ofthe united congregation. With prudent foresight it was agreedthat so soon as either of the three denominations considereditself strong enough to, in the words of my informant, "set upupon its own account," the church property was to be sold and theproceeds equally divided. The services, however, were stillconducted by Mr. Stewart for three or four years, when failinghealth compelled his retirement, and he returned to England wherehe shortly afterwards died. After his departure the Baptiststhought that they had within themselves the elements ofstability, and the property was then sold to the late Dr. Langfor £1,500, out of which they received their third share of£500.**

[** That part of the ground on which the chapelwas built was, with the chapel, sold by Dr. Lang to theQueensland Government for £2000. The building was for some yearsused as a Telegraph Office, and then was converted into aresidence for the Government Printer, and so remains.]

After this separation, the Baptists were granted the use ofthe oldest police court, then held in the same old building, inwhich they had first met, and afterwards converted into officesfor the Crown Solicitor, the Attorney-General occupying thelock-up and keeper's quarters, during which time the Rev. Smithbecame the pastor; but, says my informant, "from either a defectin the man himself, or a want of appreciation on the part of thepeople, he remained only about a year." After he left, the churchremained without a minister until the arrival of the Rev. B. G.Wilson, 1858, who remained its head until his death—nearlytwenty years afterwards. During the first year of his ministry,the church in Wharf-street, which had been commenced the yearbefore, was completed at a cost of about £2,300; and, in thestatistics of the colony, I find the attendance stated as at 200,besides which the denomination had a chapel at the GermanStation, and a room at Ipswich; accommodation hereafter to expandwith the prosperity of the colony, and in fair proportion toit.*

[* I am obliged to my friend Mr. Wm. Bell and tothe Hon. James Swan for the greater portion of the informationthus condensed—the authenticity of which, I presume, willnot be challenged.]

Into what haven the Presbyterian division of the thusseparated congregation drafted, I am not aware, but the buildingseems to have been occasionally availed of for divine service,sometimes by the Lutheran body (Germans), as I find the Rev. C.F. A. F. Schermeister described as officiating in it to anattendance of forty, and sometimes in the tolerance of Dr. Lang,by whomsoever being like-minded with himself required itsuse.

The Independents formed a separate congregation, for some timeavailing themselves of the old School of Arts, until thecompletion of the then new church in Wharf-street, NorthBrisbane, and, in 1859, the statistics register the name of theReverend George Wight as the minister, the attendance beingstated as 150. Another entry informs us that the Reverend J. J.Waraker was the pastor of a congregation of 100 at Ipswich, theorigin of which was in some respects akin to that of those I havejust described. Briefly, the incidents seem to have been these:Up to March, 1857, there was, outside the Anglican and RomanCatholic Churches, no settled minister of any denomination inIpswich; in that month the Reverend Thomas Deacon, a Baptistminister, arrived there, and shortly afterwards a temporary placeof worship was fitted up, in which service was carried on by himfor two years, when a meeting was held, at which it was resolvedto form a "Congregational Church which should include the twodenominations usually called the Baptist and Independent," and tocement the union that the subjects of infant and adult baptismshould not be introduced into the pulpit, nor should any othermeans be employed for the purpose of making Baptists Independentsor Independents Baptists." The compromise, unlike its predecessorin Brisbane, was of short duration, for in about nine months bothresolutions were rescinded, for reasons which it is said "do nottranspire on the records of the Church." Mr. Deacon resigned hispastorate, receiving the thanks of his late congregation for "theexcellent spirit he had displayed," and the Reverend E. Griffith,who had been sent for from New South Wales, took his place; but,after a brief pastorate of two years and four months, left totake charge of the congregation at Maitland, in that colony.Meanwhile, in 1855, a new chapel on which £100 had been expended,and which is now used as a school-room, was opened with muchrejoicing, and in this the Reverend Mr. Waraker was officiatingat the creation of the colony. Nothing of moment arose afterthis, unless the question whether the use of the harmonium waspermissible in public worship be deemed so. They to whom thatinstrument is a source of pleasure will be gratified to learnthat after due deliberation the doubtful tendencies ofinstrumental music were provided against by a stipulation that itshould be employed "to assist and not to supersede thecongregational psalmody," and that the harmonium was thereuponadmitted. Nothing thereafter seems to have disturbed the harmonyof the church, which went on its useful works quietly prospering,yet not without energy withal.

I have thus gone through the early history of the settlementof the different churches prior to the creation of thecolony—more in detail than by some may be thoughtnecessary; but to those who appreciate the glimpses of life andthought and character which it affords, surely not withoutinterest or use. We may easily see how the difficulty oforganization and of adherence to the distinct lines of creed andpractice—which mark the separation between churches asbodies beget indifference to both—to be succeeded in somecases by a violent reaction, in others by a continued apathy towhat had been so forgotten from long disuse that, when recalled,it was looked upon less as a return than as an obtrusive anddangerous narrative. I suspect that the leaven thus raised did insome measure, and to a greater extent than many would imagine,leaven the whole mass of religious and political working in thetimes that were to come, and, if so, the retrospect will have itsvalue.

To those who take the trouble to reflect on the circumstancespresented by this history it will be clear that the surfaceagitation, which appeared to exert so marked an influence inbringing about the separation from New South Wales, was withoutdoubt inferior in reality to the less evident undercurrentexcited by self-interest and selfish fear. The rapid progress ofthose principles in land legislation which first found embodimentin the measures of Sir John Robertson (the "Free-selection Jack"of the period) alarmed the squatters—the leading and almostthe sole producing class of the little community—whoconceived that their share in the resources of the country wasthreatened, and that their tenure would be almost extinguished byhis bill. And accordingly, while the popular platform was adoptedin Moreton Bay as one of the most efficient instruments inarriving at the desired end, a persistent worrying of theColonial Office was kept up in London by men who were not popularhere, but there were received as the exponents of the wealthiestand most influential class of the community, and who, ostensiblyfighting for that, found their zeal intensified by theremembrance that they were especially fighting for themselves.The almost invariable neglect of the district by the centralauthorities was, without doubt, a special subject for invective,but dissimilarity in general interest was an efficient cause ofseparation; a fact which should act as a warning to ourselves,although the local government Acts of recent years have done muchto remove the causes of that discontent at partial and unfairexpenditure, which was so deeply felt in the district prior to1860. Whenever differences in climate, or cultivation in theindustries which result from them, attain their naturaldevelopment the obstacles to general legislation which mustnaturally follow from them will exert much the same sort ofinfluence that similar ones did in the times we are reviewing.Not even the telegraph itself can fully counteract the laxitywhich distance permits to official administration remote from thesuperior authority. We may, therefore, contemplate the ultimateseparation of the northern districts from the south more as asequence than as a calamity—as the necessary outcrop ofnatural causes; and so viewing it may avert a bitterness whichthe severance of Queensland from New South Wales left behind it,to the damage and discredit of both.

Great anticipations of vast and indefinite advantages tofollow from separation were, no doubt, indulgedin—anticipations only just now beginning to be realised.The right of self-government had been obtained, but, beyond that,for many years afterwards, commerce ran in the old channels, andthe commercial dependance upon New South Wales was steadilyenforced and tacitly acquiesced in. With but a brief interval,the greater part of the carrying trade of the colony was left inthe hands of a company in which our people had the slightestpossible interest; and, for a considerable period, up to the year1880, the direct trade of the colony with Europe was steadily,and yet almost unobservedly, decaying. In 1879; the import fromNew South Wales was nearly fifty per cent. more than in 1877,although our numbers increased but slightly; while from GreatBritain it had fallen rather more than twenty per cent. in thesame time, and was only a fifteenth of the whole. Administrativeindependence may co-exist with commercial bondage, but they whopointed this out were, for a long time, as voices crying in thewilderness; and when, at last, the fact and its consequences werebrought home to the public appreciation, the conviction wasreceived as an unwelcome guest. It has taken a long time toemancipate public thought and action from the old trammels, inspite of the influx of population, in itself not nearly so greator so continuous as was both possible and desirable. Those whocame were unacquainted with the local circumstances, seldomconcerned themselves in our politics, such as they were, and soonbecame permeated with the ideas of the older residents, possiblyfrom deference to their presumedly greater experience—aterm more abused than most terms in the language. We may, in thewords of the old Greek, grow old considering many things, and yethave learned little—and the bulk of mankind don't consider.One thing the colony has been a long time discovering—thevalue of self-dependence—the other, which it has yet tolearn, is the adjustment of ends to means.

In the early history of the district, the combination ofpatience and skill was not often found, and, like that of thelater period, it presents us with abundance of beginnings on alarge scale, and endings on a small one; of miscalculations ofpower; of want of unanimity; and of that natural trust betweenclasses and individuals which is necessary to make a nationhappy, and keep it so. Perhaps this was natural to the paucity ofnumbers, agreement in opinion being always fractional in the bodyamongst whom it is formed; and what ten men out of a thousand mayfind impossible, 100 in 10,000 may easily carry out. But it isimpossible to glance over the period from 1842 to 1859 withoutfeeling a thrill of admiration at the persistent endurance withwhich the early settlers confronted the difficulties of a varyingfortune, consolidated their social strength against theintroduction of a criminal, servile, and degraded element, andrejected the independence they craved if it were to be clogged bysuch a weight. That there should have been some narrowness ofmind, some local jealousies, and some class hostility was, underall the circumstances, as natural as to be regretted. But thusmuch may be asserted in favor of the old colonists of MoretonBay: when Sir George Bowen came to assume the government ofQueensland he found a community second to none in the Britishdominions in their unaffected hospitality, in their naturalpropriety of conduct, in the support of their religious andeducational institutions, and in their desire to see theiradopted country placed on the road to, what they believed oughtto be, its position in the great empire of which it formed apart. And if, with these qualities, the defects arising from longrepression and comparative isolation and small numbers diddisplay themselves, we may, while congratulating ourselves upon awider sphere and greater breadth of thought, sometimes questionwhether both have not been gained by the sacrifice of the lessshowy virtues of our predecessors, and unhappily in some cases totheir extinction.

[END OF VOLUME I.]

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