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Mr. Wachsel on St. Pancras Inoculation Hospital.

Table of the Components of certain Kinds of Potash.

[Feb. 1,

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much on account of any new informa tion that it contains, as the manner in which the subject is treated, and the political considerations with which it concludes, that though long, I am induced to send it for insertion in your miscellany if you conceive it likely to prove interesting to your readers.

It is extracted from the second volume of the Voyage de Decouvertes aux Terres Australes, by Capt. PERON, who was commander-in-chief of the expedition, and died in 1810. This second volume has therefore been published by Capt. FREYCINET, who commanded the Casuarina during the same voyage. This account, written by a man of superior talents, who resided five months on the spot, and illustrated with notes by the editor of the second volume, absolutely contradicts the facts and arguments contained in the justly esteemed works of Colquhoun and Bentham,* concerning the British colonies in New South Wales. A remarkable circumstance attending these contradictory statements is, that the English writers are as severe in their censure of the English colony, which they never visited, as the French writer is lavish of his commendations of that establishment in which he had resided.

Administration.

When the English in 1788 began their first settlement in New Holland, eleven vessels of different sizes landed 1030

persons for that purpose. Since that period the population has increased with

* See Theorie des Peines et de Recompenses, par J. BENTHAM, redigée par M. DUMONT. Tom, i, p. 179.

1818.] Capt. Peron's Account of the British Colonies in N. S. Wales. 23

such rapidity that in 1802 a general census gave the following results:Free men, having never been convicts, including the civil and military officers

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300

Free women of the same class, in-
cluding the wives of the officers 70
Free men, originally convicts 2630
Free women, ditto
Male convicts

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at once, and with complete success; the same was the case with our fruit-trees, the peach, the apple, and the cherry. The strawberry, gooseberry, and raspberry, to which the heat of equatorial regions is not adapted, thrive surprisingly in this more temperate climate: our various sallad herbs, our cabbages, in short 540 all our European vegetables had the same 4832 success. Grain in like manner crowned 940 the most sanguine hopes; from the 1100 bosom of the yet virgin soil sprung abun963 dant crops of wheat and ye; in the 840 dryest situations Indian corn also flou980 rished, and the potatoe became naturalized from the very first year with a facility that could not have been expected.

13195

On the foundation of the colony the population was naturally divided into two classes-the free persons and the convicts To the former belonged the civil and military officers: these were the first proprietors. The individuals composing the second class being all slaves were divided between the government and the proprietors. Each of the latter obtained a certain quantity of land, and to each of these grants was attached a number of convicts; implements of different kinds were distributed; in a short time the forests fell beneath the axe of the carpenter: the bosom of the earth was laid open by the ploughman, and the domestic arts fixed their abode in huts and houses hastily erected on these hitherto savage shores.

Abundant supplies of salt provisions, liquors of all sorts, a prodigious quantity of flour and pulse had been conveyed thither by the fleet. These stores were deposited in the national magazines, and given out by rations to the different proprietors, their families, and slaves. Cloth ing and agricultural implements were gratuitously furnished to the new colonists; and the land was sufficiently cleared for the first crops. All the culinary seeds of Europe, and several of those of Asia, Africa, and America, were sown

* In 1804 the population of Sydney alone amounted to 2400, and was about 5000 in

1811.

To these might be added the natives; they however are not numerous, although they live upon good terms with the English, still it has hitherto been found impossible to sow the seeds of civilization among them. The English therefore leave these savages at full liberty to follow their own inclinations and way of life without attempting to subdue them and they have very seldom been annoyed by them even in the infancy of the colony,

The expenses of the government now began to diminish; for one year all had received from its stores a complete ration of provisions, but at the expiration of that time, it thus addressed the colonists:-" Your fields are in full bearing; I have made the necessary advances for bringing them into this state; you already enjoy the fruit of your labours and my sacrifices. You shall have in future only half a ration for each of your household. To insure your subsistence and tranquillity, this succour shall be continued for eighteen months: but redouble your industry and assiduity; for at the expiration of that period you will be left to your own resources, therefore you have timely notice to provide a sufficiency for your families and yourselves."

Two years and a half elapse; meanwhile the land is cleared to a considerable extent around each habitation; and the axe and fire have levelled the ancient forests heretofore spared by the hand of Time: the humble grasses spring from the relics of the mighty eucalyptus-the giant of the southern woods; the family has made sufficient provision for its subsistence. Government now leaves it in this particular to itself, but still continues to furnish it with clothing, utensils, and the different implements which it may stand in need of. These last advances are on account of the head of the family; but government, like a generous creditor, supplies these indispensably necessary articles at a low rate; neither will it demand payment for them till a future period, and then only in a manIn short, for seven years the government ner the least burthensome to the debtor. loads the settler with its favours; it demands no other return than good conduct and industry; but during these seven years the produce of the soil has increased in a proportion the more rapid

24 Capt. Peron's Account of the British Colonies in N. S. Wales. [Feb. 1,

inasmuch as the land thus colonized, yielded its first and most abundant harvests. Flocks of fowls, turkeys, geese and ducks, surround every hut and every habitation; the goat bounds on the hills; the bull pursues the heifer in luxuriant pastures; rich droves of sheep, sprung from the finest breeds of Spain, Africa, and Asia, offer in their fleeces, flesh and tallow, valuable articles of subsistence and barter. The horse has already multiplied his valuable race; the companion of the labours of man, he lightens by sharing them-he draws the plough he removes the crops to the barn he carries to market the articles destined to be exchanged, and brings back from the town those for which his master has occasion. The time has been doubled by the assistance of this noble animal; with less real labour and fatigue the settler has obtained more numerous products, and these products are already sufficient for the wants of himself and his family. Government now steps in and says to him "This comfort which you enjoy is owing to my protection and to my sacrifices. Up to this day I have given you every thing land, houses, corn, tools, labourers, animals, clothing and food; and hitherto I have required nothing for all these favours: but now that you possess a superabundance, a small portion of it must henceforth be set apart for the purpose of paying by degrees the debt which you owe me.'

The accounts between the government and individuals are now definitively adjusted according to a very moderate

scale: and the debt is divided into a certain number of parts to be paid by instalments.

Besides these first obligations of the settlers to the government, which are in some respect personal, there are others more general and important which ap pertain to the property of the grants. This property must of course belong by right to the government. Was it not the government that defrayed all the expenses of taking possession of the country? Was it not the government that, at its own risk and peril, guaranteed the independence of the settlers by the force of its arms, or the conditions of its treaties? This principle of the absolute property of every country, and consequently of the establishments formed on the surface of its soil, springs therefore from the very nature of a settlement of this kind. Such, as is well known, is the principle still (1804) maintained in some respect at the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch

Company; but the British government, considering that such a claim would be prejudicial to its interests, refrained from enforcing it in its colonies in New Holland.

When, therefore, the soil had been brought into a high state of cultivation, that is, at the end of seven years, the Government once more addressed the grantees in these terms:-"The lands that you possess were committed to your care by me; no transaction has transferred from me the property of them, and this is an express reserve which I have thought fit to make in placing you in them. Now that your plantations are in a flourishing condition, it would be wrong to leave you in any doubt on a question of this nature: I surrender to you all my rights upon the sole condition of your paying a small annual sum for each acre that I have granted to you-a contribution which you will continue to pay, till I shall remit it by a second agreement between us.”

At the same time that these different arrangements are making with the proprietors, a new charge is preparing for them, namely, taxes. It is the first time since his arrival on these shores that the colonist hears them mentioned: hitherto property of every kind has been free from imposts. Government waited till the settler was in affluence before it reclaimed its rights; and what it demands is at first so little that the head of the family scarcely feels the new burden. It increases, indeed, every year, but in an imperceptible manner, till it has reached a certain sum for each acre of land: the taxes are then to remain fixed; they are still but inconsiderable; and the produce has multiplied to such a degree, and traffic has become so brisk, that they are by no means burdensome. The English government rightly thinks, that to induce respectable persons to transport themselves to the extremity of the globe, it is necessary to offer them advantages of every kind, certain that at some future day it will reap with usury, the fruit of

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1818.] Capt. Peron's Account of the British Colonies in N. S. Wales. 25

been managed with skill and successthen the Government declares itself in debted to the owners; and instead of requiring contributions, it makes them fresh grants, presents them with new implements and cattle, gives them more slaves, and exempts them from all imposts for a longer or a shorter term. If on the contrary, the cultivation of the lands and the cattle have been neglect ed, Government admonishes the unskilful or negligent possessors; and if after several warnings, its remonstrances produce no effect, the grants are by an irrevocable decree, withdrawn from the original proprietors, and transferred to others more capable of rendering them useful to the Government and to themselves.

While beneficent laws thus secure advantages to the proprietors, the same spirit of wisdom and justice is manifested in regard to the criminals. Of these some, by far the smallest number, are doomed to slavery for life; but others at the end of a certain time regain their liberty, and have the option of remaining in the colony, or returning to England. Two powerful engines-fear and hopehave been employed to restrain and improve this motley population. On the one hand, numerous troops, constantly armed, gibbets, prisons erected in different parts of the colony, chains, an active police, severe punishments for the slightest offences, and death for those of a more heinous kind: on the other, the hope of liberty, the abridgment of the period of slavery, or even its absolute cessation; the certainty of soon obtaining pardon by good behaviour, of receiving even grants of lands, and convicts as labourers; of enjoying all the pleasures of domestic life; of acquiring fortune and consideration; of returning some time or other to Europe with the fruits of toil and industry-such was the double prospect which the English government first set before the unfortunate wretches whom it transported to these distant shores.

Examples of the most dreadful severity succeeded; the terror of the law penetrated, probably for the first time, into the obdurate hearts of the convicts, From this moment a happy change took place in them; and such has been its result, that, during our stay of five months at Port Jackson, we never heard of one single murder or even a robbery, and that for more than two years there had not been one capital conviction.

NEW MONTHLY MAG.-No. 49.

Placed thus between fear and hope, the convicts can scarcely refrain from pursuing that course which they know can alone lead to happiness; for good behaviour is sure to be rewarded. When a convict is honest, active, and industrious; when he performs any remarkable action, or makes any discovery beneficial to the colony, the Governor has the power to pardon and declare him free; sometimes he merely abridges the period of his servitude. In all cases, when the time of punishment is elapsed, the convict is restored to society, and recovers all the rights that it confers; land is granted and slaves are given to him to clear it; he receives tools and provisions: in short, he enjoys all the advantages attached to the title of proprietor.

Taught by long misery that guilt and injustice cannot escape chastisement, and that probity alone can render man happy; thoroughly convinced that pains and punishments await them in case of new misdemeanours, whereas comfort and respectability must be the reward of good behaviour; these persons thus released from bondage almost always conduct themselves in an exemplary manner. Habits of industry, which they cannot fail to contract during their long servitude, give them in this respect a kind of superiority over persons who have come free to this country: their operations for clearing the land are usually conducted with more method and intelligence, and it is observed that they are in general excellent farmers. In like manner, almost all those who employ themselves in commerce or the arts are successful, and I should not be afraid to assert that in less than thirty years many of the great fortunes in the colony will be in the hands of these criminals. The prejudices which still attach to them will then be dispelled, and they will enjoy at least that consideration which wealth seldom fails to procure; already indeed these prejudices are so weakened that some of the convicts are admitted into the best company. I have known some who after having undergone their sentence, have returned to society, and displayed such industry and skill that they now possess considerable fortunes, some of which exceed 300,000 francs (12,5001).

Such are the advantages which a convict who regains his freedom acquires by good behaviour and industry. But woe to him if he is guilty of new offences! Justice then becomes implacable; it is

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Ash Twig-Cultivation of Trees from seed.

rationally conceived that with such men, as with members of the human body in a state of mortification, the most strongly repressive measures ought to be adopted. Chains, dungeons, and whipping are the first punishments inflicted on them; if they still hesitate to follow the line of their duty, it is all over with them; their grants are confiscated by the Government; they are doomed afresh to servitude, for a greater or less number of years, and not unfrequently for life: Lastly, if their crimes are heinous, they are hanged. Several examples of these various punishments, repeated from time to time, have had but little effect in repressing the most unruly.

Meanwhile most of the convicts were bachelors, and the population of the colony of course could not but suffer from this state of things: the Government was consequently obliged to provide the means of multiplying marriages. The female convicts were its first resource. This class, it is well known, consists of condemned criminals, and the most infamous prostitutes of London and the great sea-ports of England. To form with such elements honest laborious wives and good mothers, is incontestably the triumph of legislation, and the acme of social improvement. The English Government has contrived to accomplish this prodigy by the means that we have just pointed out. It is not between disgrace and respectability that such women must be placed, for over them honour had no power: they were therefore put like the men between punishments and rewards. Certain of being overtaken by the law whenever they commit any offence, they are compelled to become more modest, more in dustrious, and to banish all ideas of criminality or vice. Obliged to devote all their time to labour, they gradually contract a habit and liking for it, and hence the most favourable change was pro

duced in them.

On becoming free like the men, upon the same conditions, and with the same reservations, these women could not fail to meet with husbands among the liberated convicts; and as the Government attaches various advantages to the state of matrimony, as the wives and the children likewise obtain grants, and as slaves are allotted them in proportion to the extent of their lands, it follows that marriage considerably ameliorates the individual state of those who contract it. These unions are now very numerous in the colony, and they are in general

[Feb. 1.

happy. I have had occasion to become acquainted with many such families, and I never could contemplate without emotion the prodigious change effected in the manners and habits of these singular couples. It is farther remarkable that women who in their state of prostitution had no more children than those of our capital, manifest in their new condition extraordinary fecundity.

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Thieves, robbers, and prostitutes, seem scarcely susceptible of producing good future generation; and yet we shall find that this observation by no means applies to that which is here springing up. If indeed we consider that the women of this class belong in general, in every country, to the most robust, and the handsomest part of the population; if we moreover reflect that such a state of things, and the vicissitudes incident to it, necessarily tend to give a kind of exaltation to the ideas; that in a still greater degree does the profession of a highwayman, or a housebreaker require strength, dexterity, and a kind of boldness with which but few men are endued; we shall be satisfied that the children of such parents are not likely to be deficient either in physical faculties or intelligence. To these primary advantages are conjoined all those that result from an extremely healthy climate, where our intense cold, and the burning heat of the equatorial regions are alike unknown. Accordingly, we were equally struck by the beauty of the children, and by the lively and animated expression of their countenances during our stay at Port Jackson.

All these children are dressed remarkably neat and kept very clean. They have been with reason, from the very first, the particular object of the attention of the government, and if we have admired the pains which it takes to bring back perverse beings to the ordinary principles of justice and probity, we shall not fail to be deeply interested by its generous efforts to prepare a more virtuous and a more happy generation.

(To be continued.)

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