The above general description may be applied with tolerable accuracy, to the whole tract of country which lies between this space and the Nepean River. The plains, however, on the banks of this river, which are in many places of considerable extent, are of far greater fertility, being a rich vegetable mould, many feet in depth, and have without doubt, been gradually formed by depositions from it during the periods of its inundations. These plains gradually enlarge themselves until you arrive at the junction of the Nepean with the Hawkesbury, on each side of which they are commonly from a mile to a mile and a half in breadth. The banks of this latter river are of still greater fertility than the banks of the former, and may vie in this respect with the far-famed banks of the Nile. The same acre of land there has been known to produce in the course of one year, fifty bushels of wheat and a hundred of maize. The settlers have never any occasion for manure, since the slimy depositions from the river, effectually counteract the exhaustion that would otherwise be produced by incessant crops. The timber on the banks of these rivers is for the most part apple tree, which is very beautiful, and bears in its foliage and shape a striking resemblance to the oak of this country. Its wood, however, is of no value except for firing, and for the immense quantity of pot-ash which might be made from it. The blue gum and stringy bark are also very common on these flooded lands, and of the best description. The banks of the Hawkesbury formerly produced cedar, but it has long since entirely disappeared.
The banks of these rivers, and indeed the whole tract of country, (generally speaking) which I have described, with the exception of the barren waste in the vicinity of the coast, are, to use the colonial term, located, i. e. either granted away to individuals, or attached as commons to the cultivated districts. It may not, therefore, be unacceptable to many of my readers, to learn the particulars of those unappropriated tracts of land within the immediate precincts of Port Jackson, which are best adapted to the purposes of colonization.
COW PASTURES.
Of these "the cow pastures" rank first in point of proximity. This tract of land has hitherto been reserved for the use of the wild cattle; although these animals have for some time past disappeared, either from having found an outlet into the interior, through the surrounding mountains, or what is a still more probable conjecture, from the exterminating incursions of the numerous poor settlers, who have farms in the neighbourhood, and who, considering their general poverty, it is easy to believe, would not suffer the want of animal food, so long as they could take their dogs and guns, and kill a cow or calf at their option. These wild cattle were the progeny of a few tame ones, which strayed away from the settlement shortly after the period of its foundation, and were not discovered till about fifteen years afterwards, when they had multiplied to several thousands. On their discovery they immediately attracted the attention of his majesty's ministers, and orders were dispatched from this country, prohibiting the governor and his successors from granting away the land, on which they had fixed themselves. This they soon overspread, and on the occasion of the severe droughts that were experienced in the colony in the years 1813, 1814, and 1815, great numbers of them perished from the want of water and pasturage. Where thousands then existed, there are scarcely hundreds to be found at present, and these chiefly consist of bulls. A cow or calf can very rarely be met with. There can consequently be very little doubt that they have disappeared in the manner I have conjectured, and that their numbers have been thus considerably reduced by the depredations of the poorer settlers, which it was for a long time thought beyond the power of the colonial courts to restrain; since, although it was notorious that these wild cattle were originally purchased by the crown, still the cattle of individuals had subsequently, at various times, intermixed with them, and prevented that identification of property, which the late judge advocate considered essential to the conviction of the offenders. His opinion, however, has been overruled by his successor, and several persons have been lately tried for and found guilty of this offence; and although they were not punished capitally for it, there can be no doubt that their conviction will greatly diminish such depredations for the future. Not that I consider the preservation of these wild herds will be attended with any advantages to the colony. On the contrary, it is my belief, that their total destruction ought to be effected; since the increase of them is of mere negative importance, compared with the positive disadvantage that attends their occupation of one of the most fertile districts in the colony, which it is to be hoped will be soon covered with numerous flocks of fine wooled sheep, for the pasture of which the greater part of it is so admirably adapted. This tract of land is about thirty miles distant from Sydney: it is bounded on the east by the river Nepean, on the west by the Blue Mountains, of which this river, on the north side of the cow pastures washes the base, so that they together form the northern boundary, and on the south by a thick barren brush of about ten miles in breadth, which these cattle have never been able to penetrate. This fine tract of country is thus surrounded by natural boundaries, which form it into an enclosure somewhat in the shape of an oblong spheroid. It contains about one hundred thousand acres of good land, a considerable portion of which is flooded, and equal to any on the banks of the Hawkesbury.
FIVE ISLANDS.
The next considerable tract of unappropriated land is the
district called the Five Islands. It commences at the distance of
about forty miles to the southward of Sydney, and extends to
Shoal Haven river. This tract of land lies between the coast and
a high range of hills which terminate at the north side abruptly
in the sea, and form its northern and western boundary: the ocean
is its eastern boundary, and Shoal Haven river its southern. The
range that surrounds this district on the north and west is a
branch of the Blue Mountains; and the only road at present known
to it, is down a pass so remarkably steep, that unless a better
be discovered, the communication between it and the capital by
land, will always be difficult and dangerous for waggons. This
circumstance is a material counterpoise to its extraordinary
fertility, and is the reason why it is at present unoccupied by
any but large stockholders. Those parts, however, which are
situated near Shoal Haven river, are highly eligible for
agricultural purposes; since this river is navigable for about
twenty miles into the country for vessels of seventy or eighty
tons burden; a circumstance which holds out to future colonists
the greatest facilities for the cheap and expeditious conveyance
of their produce to market. The land on the banks of this river
is of the same nature, and possesses equal fertility with the
banks of the Hawkesbury. There are several streams in different
parts of this district, which issue from the mountain behind, and
afford an abundant supply of pure water. In many places there are
large prairies of unparalleled richness, entirely free from
timber, and consequently prepared by the hand of nature for the
immediate reception of the ploughshare. These advantages,
combined with its proximity to Sydney, have already begun to
attract the tide of colonization to it, and will no doubt render
it in a few years one of the most populous, productive, and
valuable of all the districts. The soil is in general a deep fat
vegetable mould. The surface of the country is thinly timbered,
with the exception of the mountain which boundsit to the
Northward and Westward. This is covered with a thick brush, but
is nevertheless extremely fertile up to the very summit, and
peculiarly adapted both from its eastern aspect and mild climate
for the cultivation of the vine. This large tract of country was
only discovered about four years since, and has not yet been
accurately surveyed. Its extent, therefore, is not precisely
known; but it without doubt contains several hundred thousand
acres, including the banks of the Shoal Haven river. These
produce a great abundance of fine cedar, and other highly
valuable timber, for which there is an extensive and increasing
demand at Port Jackson.
COAL RIVER.
The next tract of unappropriated country which I shall describe, is the district of the Coal River. The town of Newcastle is situated at the mouth of this river, and is about sixty miles to the northward of Port Jackson. Its population by the last census forwarded to this country, was five hundred and fifty souls. These, with the exception of a few free settlers, established on the upper banks of this river, amounting with their families perhaps to thirty souls, and about fifty troops, are all incorrigible offenders, who have been convicted either before a bench of magistrates, or the Court of Criminal Judicature, and afterwards re-transported to this place, where they are worked in chains from sunrise to sunset, and profitably employed in burning lime and procuring coals and timber, as well for carrying on the public works at Port Jackson, as for the private purposes of individuals, who pay the government stipulated prices for these different articles. This settlement was, in fact, established with the two-fold view of supplying the public works with these necessary articles, and providing a separate place of punishment for all who might be convicted of crimes in the colonial courts.
The coal mines here are considerably elevated above the level of the sea, and are of the richest description. The veins are visible on the abrupt face of the cliff, which borders the harbour, and are worked by adits or openings, which serve both to carry off the water and to wheel away the coals. The quantity procured in this easy manner is very great, and might be increased to any extent. So much more coals indeed are thus obtained than are required for the purposes of the government, that they are glad to dispose of them to all persons who are willing to purchase, requiring in return a duty of two shillings and six pence per ton, for such as are intended for home consumption, and five shillings for such as are for exportation.
The lime procured at this settlement is made from oyster shells, which are found in prodigious abundance. These shells lie close to the banks of the river, in beds of amazing size and depth. How they came there has long been a matter of surprise and speculation to the colonists. Some are of opinion that they have been gradually deposited by the natives in those periodical feasts of shell fish, for the celebration of which they still assemble at stated seasons in large bodies: others have contended, and I think with more probability, that they were originally large natural beds of oysters, and that the river has on some occasion or other, either changed its course or contracted its limits, and thus deserted them.
These beds are generally five or six feet above high-water mark. The process of making lime from them is extremely simple and expeditious. They are first dug up and sifted, and then piled over large heaps of dry wood, which are set fire to, and speedily convert the superincumbent mass into excellent lime. When thus made it is shipped for Sydney, and sold at one shilling per bushel.
The timber procured on the banks of this river is chiefly cedar and rose wood. The cedar, however, is becoming scarce in consequence of the immense quantities that have been already cut down, and cannot be any longer obtained without going at least a hundred and fifty miles up the river. At this distance, however, it is still to be had in considerable abundance, and is easily floated down to the town in rafts. The government dispose of this wood in the same manner as the coals, at the price of £3 for each thousand square feet, intended for home consumption, and £6 for the same quantity if exported.
This settlement is placed under the direction of a commandant, who is selected out of the officers of the regiment stationed in the colony, and is allowed, as has been noticed, about fifty fire-locks to maintain his authority. He is always appointed to the magistracy previously to his obtaining this command, and is entrusted with the entire controul of the prisoners, whom he punishes or rewards as their conduct may appear to him to merit.
The harbour at the mouth of this river is tolerably secure and spacious, and contains sufficient depth of water for vessels of three hundred tons burden. The river itself, however, is only navigable for small craft of thirty or forty tons burden, and this only for about fifty miles above the town. Just beyond this distance there are numerous flats and shallows, which only admit of the passage of boats over them. This river has three branches; they are called the upper, the lower, and the middle branch: the two former are navigable for boats for about a hundred and twenty miles, the latter for upwards of two hundred miles. The banks of all these branches are liable to inundations equally terrific with those at the Hawkesbury, and from the same causes; because they are receptacles for the rain that is collected by the Blue Mountains, which form the western boundary of this district, and divide it as well as the districts of Port Jackson, from the great western wilderness. The low lands within the reach of these inundations is if possible of still greater exuberancy than the banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean, and of four times the extent. The high-land, or to give it the colonial appellation, the forest land, is very thinly studded with timber, and equal for all the purposes of agriculture and grazing to the best districts of Port Jackson. The climate too is equally salubrious, and on the upper banks of the middle branch, it is generally believed, that the summer heats are sufficient for the production of cotton; the cultivation of which would become an inexhaustible source of wealth to the growers, and would afford a valuable article of export to the colony.
In fact, under every point of view this district contains the
strongest inducements to colonization. It possesses a navigable
river, by which its produce may be conveyed to market at a
trifling expence, and the inhabitants of its most remote parts
may receive such articles of foreign or domestic growth and
manufacture as they may need, at a moderate advance: it surpasses
Port Jackson in the general fertility of its soil, and at least
rivals it in the salubrity of its climate: it contains in the
greatest abundance coal, lime, and many varieties of valuable
timber which are not found elsewhere, and promise to become
articles of considerable export: it has already established in an
eligible position, a small nucleus of settlers to which others
may adhere, and thus both communicate and receive the advantages
of society and protection; and it has a town which affords a
considerable market for agricultural produce, and of which the
commanding localities must rapidly increase the extent and
population.
COUNTRY WEST OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.
The country to the westward of the Blue Mountains ranks next in contiguity to Sydney, and claims pre-eminence not so much from any superiority of soil in those parts of it which have been explored, as from its amazing extent, and great diversity of climate. These mountains, where the road has been made over them, are fifty-eight miles in breadth; and as the distance from Sydney to Emu Ford, at which place this road may be said to commence, is about forty miles, the beginning of the vast tract of country to the westward of them, it will be seen, is ninety-eight miles distant from the capital.
The road which thus traverses these mountains is by no means difficult for waggons, until you arrive at the pass which forms the descent into the low country. There it is excessively steep and dangerous; yet carts and waggons go up and down it continually: nor do I believe that any serious accident has yet occurred in performing this very formidable undertaking.
Still the discovery of a safer and more practicable pass would certainly be attended with a very beneficial influence on the future progress of colonization in this great western wilderness. Every attempt, however, to find such a one has hitherto proved abortive; and should the future efforts which may be made with this view prove equally so, there can be little doubt, that the communication between the eastern and western country will be principally maintained by means of horses and mules with packs and panniers.
The elevation of these mountains above the level of the sea, has not yet been determined; but I should imagine that it cannot exceed four thousand feet. For the first ten or twelve miles they are tolerably well clothed with timber, and produce occasionally some middling pasture; but beyond this they are excessively barren, and are covered generally with a thick brush, interspersed here and there with a few miserable stunted gums. They bear, in fact, a striking similarity, both in respect to their soil and productions, to the barren wastes on the coast of Port Jackson. They are very rocky, but they want granite, the distinguishing characteristic of primitive mountains. Sandstone thickly studded with quartz and a little freestone, are the only varieties which they offer; a circumstance the more singular, as the moment you descend into the low country beyond them, granite is the only sort of stone that is to be met with for upwards of two hundred miles.
For the whole of this distance to the westward of these mountains, the country abounds with the richest herbage, and is upon the whole tolerably well supplied with running water. In the immediate vicinity of them there is a profusion of rivulets, which discharge themselves into the western river; or, as it is termed by the natives, the Warragambia, the main branch, as I have before observed, of the Hawkesbury. From the moment, however, that the streams begin to take a western course, the want of water becomes more perceptible, and increases as you proceed into the interior, particularly in a south-west direction.
This large and fertile tract of country, is in general perfectly free from underwood; and in many places, is without any timber at all. Bathurst Plains, for instance, where there is a commandant, a military depot, and some few settlers established, have been found by actual admeasurement, to contain upwards of sixty thousand acres, upon which there is scarcely a tree. The whole of this western country, indeed, is much more open and free from timber than the best districts to the eastward of the Blue Mountains.
The depot at Bathurst Plains, is 180 miles distant from Sydney; and the road to it presents no impediment to waggons, but the descent from the mountains into the low country; and even this does not prevent the inhabitants from maintaining a regular intercourse with that town, and receiving from it all the supplies which they require. The difficulty, however, of thus communicating with the capital, is such as to preclude this vast tract of country from assuming an agricultural character; except in as far as the raising of grain for a scanty population of shepherds and herdsmen, may entitle it to this denomination; since there are no navigable rivers, at all events for many hundred miles into the interior, and the difficulty and expence of a land-carriage across the Blue Mountains, will always prevent the inhabitants of that part of this vast western wilderness, which is at present explored, from entering into a competition with the colonists in the immediate vicinity of Port Jackson. By way, however, of set-off against the anifest superiority, which the districts to the eastward of the mountains possess in this respect over the country to the westward of them; this latter is certainly much better adapted for all the purposes of grazing and rearing cattle. The herbage is sweeter and more nutritive, and there is an unlimited range for stock, without any danger of their committing trespass. There is besides, for the first two hundred miles, a constant succession of hill and dale, admirably suited for the pasture of sheep, the wool of which will without doubt eventually become the principal export of this colony, and may be conveyed across these mountains at an inconsiderable expense.
The discovery of this vast and as yet imperfectly known tract of country, was made in the year 1814, and will doubtless be hereafter productive of the most important results. It has indeed already given a new aspect to the colony, and will form at some future day, a memorable era in its history. Nothing is now wanting to render this great western wilderness the seat of a powerful community, but the discovery of a navigable river communicating with the western coast. That such exists, although the search for it has hitherto proved ineffectual, there can be no doubt, if we may be allowed to judge from analogy; since in the whole compass of the earth, there is no single instance of so large a country as New Holland, not possessing at least one great navigable river. To ascertain this point has been one of the leading objects of Governor Macquarie's administration, ever since the discovery of the pass across the mountains. Several unsuccessful expeditions have been fitted out with this view from Sydney, both by sea and land. The last of which we have learned the result, was conducted by Mr. Oxley, the surveyor-general, and is most worthy of notice, as well from the extent of country which he traversed, as from the probability that the river which he discovered, discharges itself into the ocean on some part of the western coast. The summary of this journey is contained in the following letter, addressed by him to the governor on his return from this expedition to Bathurst Plains.
Bathurst, 30th August, 1817.
SIR,
I have the honour to acquaint your Excellency with my arrival at this place last evening, with the persons comprising the expedition to the westward, which your Excellency was pleased to place under my direction.
Your Excellency is already informed of my proceedings up to the 30th of April. The limits of a letter will not permit me to enter at large into the occurrences of nineteen weeks; and as I shall have the honour of waiting on your Excellency in a few days, I trust you will have the goodness to excuse the summary account I now offer to your Excellency.
I proceeded down the Lachlan in company with the boats until the 12th of May, the country rapidly descending until the waters of the river rose to a level with it, and dividing into numerous branches, inundated the country to the west and north-west, and prevented any further progress in that direction, the river itself being lost among marshes: up to this point it had received no accession of waters from either side, but on the contrary was constantly dissipating in lagoons and swamps.
The impossibility of proceeding further in conjunction with the boats being evident, I determined upon maturer deliberation, to haul them up, and divesting ourselves of everything, that could possibly be spared, proceed with the horses loaded with the additional provisions from the boats, in such a course towards the coast as would intersect any stream that might arise from the divided waters of the Lachlan.
In pursuance of this plan, I quitted the river on the 11th May, taking a south-west course towards Cape Northumberland, as the best one to answer my intended purpose. I will not here detail the difficulties and privations we experienced in passing through a barren and desolate country, without any water but such rain water as was found remaining in holes and the crevices of rocks. I continued this course until the 9th of June, when having lost two horses through fatigue and want, and the others in a deplorable condition, I changed our course to north, along a range of lofty hills, running in that direction, as they afforded the only means of procuring water until we should fall in with some running stream. On this course I continued until the 23d of June, when we again fell in with a stream, which we had at first some difficulty to recognise as the Lachlan, it being little larger than one of the marshes of it, where it was quitted on the 17th of May.
I did not hesitate a moment to pursue this course; not that the nature of the country, or its own appearance in any manner indicated that it would become navigable, or was even permanent; but I was unwilling that the smallest doubt should remain of any navigable waters falling westward into the sca, between the limits pointed out in my instructions.
I continued along the banks of the stream until the 8th of July, it having taken during this period a westerly direction, and passing through a perfectly level country, barren in the extreme, and being evidently at periods entirely under water. To this point it had been gradually diminishing, and spreading its waters over stagnated lagoons and morasses, without receiving any stream that we knew of during the whole extent of its course. The banks were not more than three feet high, and the marks of flood in the shrubs and bushes, shewed that at times it rose between two and three feet higher, causing the whole country to become a marsh, and altogether uninhabitable.
Further progress westward, had it been possible, was now useless, as there was neither hill nor rising ground of any kind within the compass of our view, which was only bounded by the horizon in every quarter, entirely devoid of timber except a few diminutive gums on the very edge of the stream, might be so termed. The water in the bed of the lagoon, as it might now be properly denominated, was stagnant; its breadth about twenty feet, and the heads of grass growing in it, shewed it to be about three feet deep.
This originally unlooked for and truly singular termination of a river, which we had anxiously hoped and reasonably expected would have led to a far different conclusion, filled us with the most painful sensations. We were full five hundred miles west of Sydney, and nearly in its latitude; and it had taken us ten weeks of unremitted exertion to proceed so far. The nearest part of the coast about Cape Bernouilli, had it been accessible, was distant about a hundred and fifty miles. We had demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt, that no river whatever could fall into the sea, between Cape Otway and Spencer's Gulph; at least none deriving their waters from the eastern coast, and that the country south of the parallel of 34 degrees, and west of the meridian of 147 degrees 30' East, was uninhabitable and useless for all the purposes of civilized man.
It now became my duty to make our remaining resources as extensively useful to the colony as our circumstances would allow: these were much diminished: an accident to one of the boats, in the outset of the expedition, had deprived us of one-third of our dry provisions, of which we had originally but eighteen weeks; and we had been in consequence for some time on a reduced ration of two quarts of flour per man, per week. To return to the depot by the route we had come, would have been as useless as impossible; and seriously considering the spirit of your Excellency's instructions, I determined upon the most mature deliberation, to take such a route on our return, as would, I hope, best comport with your Excellency's views, had our present situation ever been contemplated.
Returning down the Lachlan, I re-commenced the survey of it from the point in which it was made, the 23d of June; intending to continue up its banks until its connection with the marshes, where we quitted it on the 17th May, was satisfactorily established, as also to ascertain if any streams might have escaped our research. The connection with all the points of the survey previously ascertained, was completed between the 19th of July and the 3d of August. In the space passed over within that period, the river had divided into various branches, and formed three fine lakes, which, with one near the determination of our journey westward, were the only considerable pieces of water we had yet seen; and I now estimated that the river, from the place where first made by Mr. Evans, had run a course, taking all its windings, of upwards of twelve hundred miles; a length of course altogether unprecedented, when the single nature of the river is considered, and that its original is its only supply of water during that distance.
Crossing at this point it was my intention to take a north-east course, to intersect the country, and if possible ascertain what had become of the Macquarie river, which it was clear had never joined the Lachlan. This course led us through a country to the full as bad as any we had yet seen, and equally devoid of water, the want of which again much distressed us. On the 7th of August the scene began to change, and the country to assume a very different aspect: we were now quitting the neighbourhood of the Lachlan, and had passed to the north-east of the high range of hills, which on this parallel bounds the low country to the north of that river. To the north-west and north, the country was high and open, with good forest land; and on the 10th we had the satisfaction to fall in with the first stream running northerly. This renewed our hopes of soon falling in with the Macquarie, and we continued upon the same course, occasionally inclining to the eastward, until the 19th passing through a fine luxuriant country, well watered, crossing in that space of time nine streams, having a northerly course through rich vallies; the country in every direction being moderately high and open, and generally as fine as can be imagined.
No doubt remained upon our minds that those streams fell into the Macquarie, and to view it before it received such an accession, was our first wish. On the 19th we were gratified by falling in with a river running through a most beautiful country, and which I would have been well contented to have believed the river we were in search of. Accident led us down this stream about a mile, when we were surprised by its junction with a river coming from the south, of such width and magnitude, as to dispel all doubts as to this last being the river we had so long anxiously looked for. Short as our resources were, we could not resist the temptation this beautiful country offered us, to remain two days on the junction of the river, for the purpose of examining the vicinity to as great an extent as possible.
Our examination increased the satisfaction we had previously felt: as far as the eye could reach in every direction, a rich and picturesque country extended, abounding in limestone, slate, good timber, and every other requisite that could render an uncultivated country desirable. The soil cannot be excelled, whilst a noble river of the first magnitude affords the means of conveying its productions from one part to the other. Where I quitted it its course was northerly, and we were then north of the parallel of Port Stevens, being in latitude 32 degrees 45' South, and 148 degrees 58' East longitude.
It appeared to me that the Macquarie had taken a north north-west course from Bathurst, and that it must have received immense accessions of water in its course from that place. We viewed it at a period best calculated to form an accurate judgment of its importance, when it was neither swelled by floods beyond its natural and usual height, nor contracted within its limits by summer droughts: of its magnitude when it should have received the streams we had crossed, independent of any it may receive from the east, which from the boldness and height of the country, I presume, must be at least as many, some idea may be formed, when at this point it exceeded in breadth and apparent depth, the Hawkesbury at Windsor. Many of the branches were of grander and more extended proportion than the admired one on the Nepean River from the Warragambia to Emu Plains.
Resolving to keep as near the river as possible during the remainder of our course to Bathurst, and endeavour to ascertain at least on the west side, what waters fell into it, on the 22d we proceeded up the river, and between the point quitted and Bathurst, crossed the sources of numberless streams, all running into the Macquarie; two of them were nearly as large as that river itself at Bathurst. The country from whence all these streams derive their source, was mountainous and irregular, and appeared equally so on the east side of the Macquarie. This description of country extended to the immediate vicinity of Bathurst; but to the west of those lofty ranges, the country was broken into low grassy hills, and fine valleys watered by rivulets rising on the west side of the mountains, which on their eastern side pour their waters directly into the Macquarie.
These westerly streams appeared to me to join that which I had at first sight taken for the Macquarie; and when united fall into it at the point at which it was first discovered, on the 19th inst.
We reached this place last evening, without a single accident having occurred during the whole progress of the expedition, which from this point has encircled within the parallels of 34 degrees 30' South, and 32 degrees South, and between the meridians of 149 degrees 43' and 143 degrees 40' East, a space of nearly one thousand miles.
I shall hasten to lay before your Excellency the journals, charts, and drawings, explanatory of the various occurrences of our diversified route; infinitely gratified if our exertions should appear to your Excellency commensurate with your expectations, and the ample means which your care and liberality placed at my disposal.
I feel the most particular pleasure in informing your Excellency of the obligations I am under to Mr. Evans, the Deputy Surveyor, for his able advice and cordial co-operation throughout the expedition, and as far as his previous researches had extended, the accuracy and fidelity of his narration was fully exemplified.
It would perhaps appear presuming in me to hazard an opinion upon the merits of persons engaged in a pursuit of which I have little knowledge; the extensive and valuable collection of plants formed by Mr. A. Cunningham, the king's botanist, and Mr. C. Frazer, the colonial botanist, will best evince to your Excellency the unwearied industry and zeal bestowed on the collection and preservation of them: in every other respect they also merit the highest praise.
From the nature of the greater part of the country passed over, our mineralogical collection is but small. Mr. S. Parr did as much as could be done in that branch, and throughout endeavoured to render himself as useful as possible.
Of the men on whom the chief care of the horses and baggage devolved, it is impossible to speak in too high terms. Their conduct in periods of considerable privation, was such as must redound to their credit; and their orderly, regular, and obedient behaviour, could not be exceeded. It may be principally attributed to their care and attention that we lost only three horses; and that, with the exception of the loss of the dry provisions already mentioned, no other accident happened during the course of it. I most respectfully beg leave to recommend them to your Excellency's favourable notice.
I trust your Excellency will have the goodness to excuse any omissions or inaccuracies that may appear in this letter; the messenger setting out immediately will not allow me to revise or correct it.
I have the honour, etc.
J. OXLEY, Surveyor-Gen.
To his Excellency Lachlan Macquarie, Esq.
The course and direction of this river is the object of two expeditions, of which we may shortly expect to learn the result. One is by land, and conducted by the same gentleman; the other by sea, and under the command of Lieutenant King, R.N.; whose father, Captain King, was formerly Lieutenant Governor of Norfolk Island, and afterwards Governor in Chief of New South Wales.
If the sanguine hopes to which the discovery of this river has given birth, should be realized, and it should be found to empty itself into the ocean, on the north-west coast, which is the only part of this vast island that has not been accurately surveyed, in what mighty conceptions of the future greatness and power of this colony, may we not reasonably indulge? The nearest distance from the point at which Mr. Oxley left off, to any part of the western coast, is very little short of two thousand miles. If this river, therefore, be already of the size of the Hawkesbury at Windsor, which is not less than two hundred and fifty yards in breadth, and of sufficient depth to float a seventy-four gun-ship, it is not difficult to imagine what must be its magnitude at its confluence with the ocean; before it can arrive at which it has to traverse a country nearly two thousand miles in extent. If it possess the usual sinuosities of rivers, its course to the sea cannot be less than from five to six thousand miles, and the endless accession of tributary streams which it must receive in its passage through so great an extent of country, will without doubt enable it to vie in point of magnitude with any river in the world. In this event its influence in promoting the progress of population in this fifth continent, will be prodigious, and in all probability before the expiration of many years, give an entirely new impulse to the tide of population: and here it may not be altogether irrelevant, to enter into a short disquisition on the natural superiority possessed by those countries which are most abundantly intersected with navigable rivers. That such are most favourable for all the purposes of civilized man, the history of the world affords the most satisfactory proof There is not, in fact, a single instance on record of any remarkable degree of wealth and power having been attained by any nation which has not possessed facilities for commerce, either in the number or size of its rivers, or in the spaciousness of its harbours, and the general contiguity of its provinces to the sea. The Mediterranean has given rise to so many great and powerful nations, only from the superior advantages which it afforded for commerce during the long infancy of navigation. The number and fertility of its islands, the serenity of its climate, the smoothness of its waters, the smallness of its entrance, which although of itself sufficient to indicate to the skilful pilot the proximity of the ocean, is still more clearly defined by the Pillars of Hercules, towering on each side of it, and forming land-marks not to be mistaken by the timid, the inexperienced, or the bewildered. Such are the main causes why the Mediterranean continued until the discovery and application of the properties of the magnet, the seat of successive empires so superior to the rest of the world in affluence and power. It is indeed almost impossible to conceive, how any considerable degree of wealth and civilization can be acquired without the aid of navigation. From the moment savages abandon the hunter state, and resign themselves to the settled pursuits of agriculture, the march of population must inevitably follow the direction of navigable waters; since in the infancy of societies these furnish the only means of indulging that spirit of barter which is co-existent with association, is the main spring of industry, and the ultimate cause of all civilization and refinement. In such situations the rude canoe abundantly suffices to maintain the first necessary interchanges of the superfluities of one individual for those of another. Roads, waggons, etc. are refinements entirely unknown in the incipient stages of society. They are the gradual results of civilization, and consequent only on the accumulation of wealth and the attainment of a certain point of maturity. Canals are a still later result of civilization, and are undoubtedly the greatest efforts for the encouragement of barter, and the developement of industry, to which human power and ingenuity have yet given birth. But after all, what are these artificial channels of communication, these ne plus ultras of human contrivance, compared with those natural mediums of intercourse, those mighty rivers which pervade every quarter of the globe? What are they to the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges, the Mississippi, or the Amazon? What are they, in fact, compared even with those infinite minor navigable streams, of which scarcely any country, however circumscribed, is entirely destitute? What! but mere pigmy imitations of nature, which wherever there is a sufficient number of rivers, will never be resorted to, unless it be for the purpose of connecting them together, or of avoiding those long and tedious sinuosities to which they are all more or less subject.
Viewing therefore this newly discovered river only in the light of a river of the first magnitude, it must be evident that this important discovery will have an incalculable influence on the future progress of colonization; but to be enabled fully to estimate the beneficial consequences of which it will be productive; it is essential to take into the estimate, the probable direction of its course, and the point of its confluence with the ocean. This I have already stated is with good reason imagined to be on the north-west coast; since every other part of this vast island has been so accurately surveyed, as scarcely to admit of the possibility of so large a river falling into the sea in any other position. Assuming, therefore, that the source of this river is in the direction thus generally supposed, it will be seen that it will surpass all the rivers in the world in variety of climate; since reckoning merely from the spot where Mr. Oxley discovered it to its conjectural embouchure, there will be a difference of latitude of twenty degrees. Even omitting, then, to take into computation the probable length of its course from the place where it first becomes navigable, to the point where that gentleman fell in with it, (and it was there running from the south, and must have already been navigable for a considerable distance, if we may judge from its size,) the world does not afford any parallel of a river traversing so great a diversity of climate. The majority indeed of the rivers, which may be termed "rivers of the first magnitude," run from west to east, or from east to west, and consequently vary their climate only in proportion to their distance from the sea, to the elevation of their beds, and to the extent of country traversed by such of their branches as run at right angles with them. Of this sort are the St. Lawrence, in North America, the Oronoko and Amazon, in South America; the Niger, Senegal and Gambia, in Africa; the Danube and Elbe, in Europe; and the Hoang Ho, and Kiang Keou in Asia. It must indeed be admitted, that every quarter of the globe furnishes some striking exceptions to this rule, such as the Mississippi and River Plate in America; the Nile, in Africa; the Rhine, the Dniester, the Don, and the Volga, in Europe; and the Indus and Ganges, in Asia; all of which certainly run from north to south, or south to north, and consequently command a great variety of climate.
In this respect, however, none of them will be worthy of comparison with this newly discovered river, if the point of its confluence with the ocean should happily be where it is conjectured. And yet we find that all the countries through which the above-named rivers pass, either have been, or promise to be, the seats of much more wealthy and powerful nations than the countries through which those rivers pass whose course is east or west. The cause of this superiority of one over the other, is to be traced to the greater diversity of productions, which will necessarily be raised on the banks and in the vicinity of those rivers whose course is north or south, a circumstance that is alone sufficient to ensure the possessors of them, under Governments equally favourable to the extension of industry, a much greater share of commerce and wealth than can possibly belong to the inhabitants of these rivers whose course is in a contrary direction: and this for the simplest reason; because rivers of the former description contain within themselves, many of those productions which the latter can only obtain from abroad. In the one, therefore, there is not only a necessity for having recourse to foreign supply, which does not exist in the other, but also a great prevention to internal navigation, arising from the sameness of produce, and the consequent impediment to barter, which must prevail in a country where all have the same commodities to dispose of, where all wish to sell and none to buy. To this manifest superiority which rivers runningon a meridian claim over those running on a parallel, there is no counterpoise, since they both contain equal facilities for exporting their surplus productions, and receiving in exchange the superfluities of other countries. It may, indeed, here be urged, that there is, upon the whole, no surplus produce in the world; and that, as the surplus, whatever may be its extent, of one country, may be always exchanged for that of another, as great a variety of luxuries may be thus obtained by the inhabitants of rivers that run in an eastern or western direction as can possibly be raised by the inhabitants of rivers that run in a northern or southern; and that consequently the same stimulus to an inland navigation will be created by the eventual distribution of the various commodities procured by foreign commerce, as if they had been the products of the country itself. To this it may be replied, that although a much greater variety of products may undoubtedly be imported from foreign countries, than can possibly be raised within the compass of any one navigable river, such products cannot afterwards be sold at so cheap a rate. In all countries, therefore, where such products are imported from abroad, the increase in their price must occasion a proportionate diminution in their consumption, and in so far inevitably operate as a check to internal navigation.
This variety of production, and the additional encouragement
thus afforded by it, to what is well known to be one of the main
sources of national wealth, is sufficient to account for the
superior degree of civilization, affluence, and power, which have
in general characterized those countries whose rivers take a
northern or southern course. Some few nations, indeed, which do
not possess such great natural advantages, have supplied the want
of them by their own skill and industry, and have in the end
triumphed over the efforts of nature to check their progress. Of
a people who have thus overstepped these natural barriers opposed
to their advancement, and in spite of them attained the summit of
wealth and civilization, China perhaps furnishes the most
remarkable example. The two principal rivers of that country, the
Hoang Ho, or Yellow River, and the Kiang Keou, or Great River,
runs from west to east; yet by means of what is termed by way of
eminence, "The Great Canal," the Chinese have not only joined
these two mighty streams together, but have also extended the
communication to the northward, as far as the main branch of the
Pei Ho, and to the southward as far as the mouth of the Ningapo:
thus establishing by the intervention of this stupendous monument
of human industry and perseverance, and the various branches of
the four rivers which it connects, an inland navigation between
the great cities of Peking and Nanking, and affording every
facility for the transport of the infinite products raised within
the compass of a country containing from twelve to fifteen
degrees difference of latitude, and about the same difference of
longitude; or, in other words, a surface of about five hundred
and eighteen thousand four hundred square miles.
This instance, however, of equal or superior civilization thus attained by a nation, notwithstanding the principal rivers of their country run from west to east, does not at all militate against the natural superiority which has been conceded to those countries whose rivers run in a contrary direction: it only shews what may be effected by a wise and politic government averse to the miseries of war, and steadily bent on the arts of peace. The very attempts, indeed, of this enlightened people to supply the natural deficiencies of their country by canals, are the strongest commendations that can be urged in favour of a country where no such artificial substitutes are necessary; where nature, of her own lavish bounty has created facilities for the progress of industry and civilization, which it would require the labour and maturity of ages imperfectly to imitate.
How far, indeed, these mighty contrivances of the all-bounteous Creator, for the promotion and developement of industry, outstrip all human imitation, the occurrences of the passing hour furnish the most satisfactory and conclusive evidence. The vast tide of emigration which is incessantly rolling along the banks of the Mississippi, and of its tributary streams, and the numberless cities, towns, and settlements, that have sprung up as if it were by the agency of magic, in what but a few years back was one boundless and uninterrupted wilderness, speak a language not to be mistaken by the most ignorant or prejudiced. The western territory, which though a province but of yesterday, soon promises to rival the richest and most powerful members of the American union, affords an instance of rapid colonization, of which, the history of the world cannot produce a parallel, and offers an incontestable proof of the natural superiority which countries, whose rivers run in a northern or southern course, possess over all others.
But this fact is not merely established by the experience of the present day, it is equally authenticated by the testimony of past ages. What was the reason why Egypt was for so many centuries the seat of affluence and power, but the Nile? that India is still rich and populous, but the Indus and Ganges? These countries, indeed, are no longer the great and powerful empires they were, although the natural advantages of their situations are still unchanged. But what mighty ravages will not a blood-thirsty and overwhelming despotism effect? What health and vigor can belong to that body politic which is forced to inhale the nauseous effluvia of tyranny? Prosperity is a plant that can only flourish in an atmosphere fauned by the wholesome breath of freedom. The highest fertility of soil, the greatest benignity of climate, the most commanding superiority of position, will otherwise be unavailing. Freedom may in the end convert the most barren and inhospitable waste into a paradise; but the inevitable result of tyranny is desolation.
The probable course of this newly discovered river, being thus in every respect so decidedly favourable for the foundation of a rich and powerful community, there can be little doubt that the government of this country will immediately avail itself of the advantages which it presents, and establish a settlement at its mouth. What a sublime spectacle will it then be for the philosopher to mark the gradual progress of population from the two extremities of this river; to behold the two tides of colonization flowing in opposite directions, and constantly hastening to that junction, of which the combined waters shall overspread the whole of this fifth continent!
What a cheering prospect for the philanthropist to behold what is now one vast and mournful wilderness, becoming the smiling seat of industry and the social arts; to see its hills and dales covered with bleating flocks, lowing herds, and waving corn; to hear the joyful notes of the shepherd, and the enlivening cries of the husbandman, instead of the appalling yell of the savage, and the plaintive howl of the wolf; and to witness a country which nature seems to have designed as her master-piece, at length fulfilling the gracious intentions of its all-bounteous Author, by administering to the wants and contributing to the happiness of millions.
What a proud sight for the Briton to view his country pouring
forth her teeming millions to people new hives, to see her
forming in the most remote parts of the earth new establishments
which may hereafter rival her old; and to behold thousands who
would perish from want within her immediate limits, procuring an
easy and comfortable subsistence in those which are more remote;
and instead of weakening her power and diminishing her resources,
effectually contributing to the augmentation of both, and forming
monuments which may descend to the latest posterity,
indestructible records of her greatness and glory.
SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURE.
The system of agriculture pursued in this colony, does not materially differ from that which prevails in this country. During the earlier stages of these settlements, the hoe-husbandry was a necessary evil; but the great increase in the stock of horses and cattle, has at last almost completely superseded it; and the plough-husbandry is now, and has been for many years past, in general practice. In new lands, indeed, the hoe is still unavoidably used during the first year of their cultivation, on account of the numerous roots and other impediments to the plough, with which lands in a state of nature invariably abound; but excepting these occasions, and the instances of settlers who are unable to purchase horses or oxen, and consequently adhere to the original mode of cultivation from necessity, the hoe-husbandry is completely exploded. Until the year 1803, eighteen years after the foundation of this colony, the plough-husbandry was confined to a few of the richest cultivators, from the exorbitant price of cattle. At that period, however, the government herds had so considerably multiplied, that the then governor (King) recommended the adoption of the plough-husbandry in general orders, and tendered oxen at £28 per head, to be paid either in produce or money, at the end of three years, to all such settlers as were inclined to purchase them. This custom has been followed by all his successors; but as no abatement has been made in the price of them, and as they can be obtained at one-third the amount elsewhere, such only of the colonists now avail themselves of this indulgence, as have no ready means of purchase, and are allured by the length of the credit.
Wheat, maize, barley, oats, and rye, are all grown in this colony; but the two former are most cultivated. The climate appears to be rather too warm for the common species of barley and oats; but the poorer soils produce them of a tolerably good quality. The skinless barley, or as it is termed by some, the Siberian wheat, arrives at very great perfection, and is in every respect much superior to the common species of barley; but the culture of this grain is limited to the demand which is created for it by the colonial breweries; the Indian corn, or maize, being much better adapted for the food of horses, oxen, pigs, and poultry. The produce too is much more abundant than that of barley and oats; and the season for planting it being two months later than for any other sort of grain, the settler has every motive for giving it the preference. Wheat may be sown any time from February to July, and even as late as August, if that month happens to be moist; but the best months are April, May, and June. The creeping wheat, however, may be sown in the commencement of February; as should it become too rank, it can easily be kept down by sheep, which are found to do this sort of wheat no manner of injury. To the farmer, therefore, who keeps large flocks of sheep, the cultivation of the creeping wheat is highly advantageous; since in addition to its yielding as great a crop as any other species of wheat, it supersedes the necessity of growing turnips or other artificial food for the support of his stock during the severity of the winter, when the natural grasses become scanty and parched up by the frost. The red and white lammas, and the Cape or bearded wheat, are the species generally cultivated. June is the best month for sowing barley and oats, but they may be sown till the middle of August with a fair prospect of a good crop. Indian corn or maize may be planted from the end of September to the middle of December; but October is the best month. It is, however, a very common practice among the settlers on the fertile banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean, to plant what is called stubble corn; that is, to plant it among the wheat, barley, and oat stubbles, as soon as the harvest is over, without ploughing or breaking up the ground. Maize is frequently planted in this way until the middle of January, and if the season proves sufficiently moist, yields a very abundant crop. The usual manner of planting it is in holes about six feet apart: five grains are generally put in each of these holes. The average produce of this grain on rich flooded lands, is from eighty to a hundred bushels per acre. Wheat in the same situations yields from thirty to forty bushels; and barley and oats, about fifty bushels an acre. On forest lands, however, the crops are not so productive, unless the ground be well manured; but the wheat, barley and oats, grown on this land, are much heavier and superior in quality. The difference of the weight of wheat grown in forest and flooded lands, is upon an average not less than 8 lbs. per bushel. The former sort weighing 64 lbs. and the latter only 56 lbs.
The wheat harvest commences partially about the middle of November, and is generally over by Christmas. The maize, however, is not ripe until the end of March, and the gathering is not complete throughout the colony before the middle of May.
Potatoes*, cabbages, carrots, parsnips, turnips, pease, beans, cauliflowers, brocoli, asparagus, lettuces, onions, and in fact every species of vegetables known in this country, are produced in this colony; many of them attain a much superior degree of perfection, but a few also degenerate. To the former class belong the cauliflower and brocoli, and the different varieties of the pea; to the latter the bean and potatoe. For the bean, in particular, the climate appears too hot, and it is only to be obtained in the stiffest clays and the dampest situations. The potatoe, however, is produced on all soils in the greatest abundance, but the quality is not nearly as good as in this country. In this respect, however, much depends on the nature of the soil. In stiff clays the potatoes are invariably watery and waxy, but in light sands and loams, they are tolerably dry and mealy. Manure also deteriorates their quality, and in general they are best when grown on new lands. Potatoes are in consequence very commonly planted in the fields, as a first crop, and are found to pulverize land just brought from a state of nature into cultivation more than other root. An abundant crop of wheat, barley, or oats, may be safely calculated to succeed them; more particularly if a light covering of manure be applied at the time of their planting.
[* For the Colonial Garden, see Appendix.]
The colony is justly famed for the goodness and variety of its fruits: Peaches, apricots, nectarines, oranges, grapes, pears, plums, figs, pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, and melons of all sorts, attain the highest degree of maturity in the open air; and even the pineapple may be produced merely by the aid of the common forcing glass. The climate, however, of Port Jackson, is not altogether congenial to the growth of the apple, currant, and gooseberry; although the whole of these fruits are produced there, and the apple, in particular, in very great abundance; but it is decidedly inferior in quality to the apple of this country. These fruits, however, arrive at the greatest perfection in every part of Van Diemen's Land; and as the climate of the country to the westward of the Blue Mountains, is equally cold, they will without doubt attain there an equal degree of perfection; but the short period which has elapsed since the establishment of a settlement beyond these mountains, has not allowed the nltramontanians to make the experiment.
Of all the fruits which I have thus enumerated as being produced in this colony, the peach is the most abundant and the most useful. The different varieties which have been already introduced, succeed one another in uninterrupted succession from the middle of November to the latter end of March: thus filling up an interval of more than four months, and affording a wholesome and nutritious article of food during one-third of the year. This fruit grows spontaneously in every situation, on the richest soils, as on the most barren; and its growth is so rapid that if you plant a stone, it will in three years afterwards bear an abundant crop of fruit. Peaches are, in consequence, so plentiful throughout the colony, that they are every where given as food to hogs; and when thrown into heaps, and allowed to undergo a proper degree of fermentation, are found to fatten them very rapidly. Cider also is made in great quantities from this fruit, and when of sufficient age, affords a very pleasant and wholesome beverage. The lees, too, after the extraction of the juice, possess the same fattening properties, and are equally calculated as food for hogs.
REARING OF CATTLE, ETC.
The system of rearing and fattening stock in this colony is simple and economical. Horses, in consequence of their rambling nature, are almost invariably kept in enclosures. In the districts immediately contiguous to Port Jackson, horned cattle are followed by a herdsman during the day, in order to prevent them from trespassing on the numerous uninclosed tracts of land that are in a state of tillage, and they are confined during the night in yards or paddocks. In the remoter districts, however, which are altogether devoid of cultivation, horned cattle are subjected to no such restraints, but are permitted to range about the country at all times. The herds too are generally larger; and although a herdsman is still required as well to prevent them from separating into straggling parties, as to protect them from depredation, the expence of keeping them in this manner is comparatively trifling, and the advantages of allowing them this uncontrouled liberty to range, very great; since they are found during the heat of summer to feed more in the night than in the day. This, therefore, is the system which the great stockholders almost invariably pursue. Few of them possess sufficient land for the support of their cattle; and as their estates too, however remote the situation in which they may have been selected, have for the most part become surrounded by small cultivators, who seldom or ever inclose their crops, they generally recede with their herds from the approach of colonization, and form new establishments, where the liability to trespass does not exist. They thus become the gradual explorers of the country, and it is to their efforts to avoid the contact of agriculture, that the discovery of the best districts yet known in the colony is ascribable.
The management of sheep is in some respects different. They are never permitted to roam during the night, on account of the native dog, which is a great enemy to them, and sometimes during the day, makes great ravages among them, even under the eye of the shepherd. In every part of the country, therefore, they are kept by night either in folds or yards. In the former case the shepherd sleeps in a small moveable box, which is shifted with the folds, and with his faithful dog, affords a sufficient protection for his flock, against the attempts of these midnight depredators. In the latter the paling of the yards is always made so high, that the native dog cannot surmount it; and the safety of the flock is still further ensured by the contiguity of the shepherd's house, and the numerous dogs with which he is always provided.
The natural grasses of the colony are sufficiently good and nutritious at all seasons of the year, for the support of every description of stock, where there is an adequate tract of country for them to range over. But in consequence of the complete occupation of the districts which are in the more immediate vicinity of Port Jackson, and from the settlers in general possessing more stock than their lands are capable of maintaining, the raising of artificial food for the winter months, has of late years become very general among such of them as are unwilling to send their flocks and herds into the uninhabited parts in the interior. This is a practice which must necessarily gain ground; since it has been observed, that the coldness of the climate keeps pace with the progress of agriculture. In the more contiguous and cultivated districts, the natural grass becomes consequently every year more affected by the influence of frost, and the necessity of raising some artificial substitute for the support of stock, during the suspension of vegetation, more pressing and incumbent. It is from this increase in the severity of the winters, that the custom of making hay has begun to be adopted; and should the future augmentation of cold be, as there is every reason to believe, proportionate to the past, this custom will, before the expiration of many years, become generally prevalent. It is indeed, rather a matter of surprise than otherwise, that so salutary a precaution has been so long in disuse; since such is the luxuriance of the natural grass during the summer, that it is the general practice after the seeds wither away, to set fire to it, and thus improvidently consume what, if mown and made into hay, would afford the farmer a sufficiency of nutritious food for his stock during the winter, and altogether supersede the subsequent necessity for his having recourse to artificial means of remedying so palpable a neglect of the bounteous gifts of nature.
This custom of setting fire to the grass, is most prevalent during the months of August and January, i.e. just before the commencement of spring and autumn, when vegetation is on the eve of starting from the slumber which it experiences alike during the extremes of the winter's cold as of the summer's heat. If a fall of rain happily succeed these fires, the country soon presents the appearance of a field of young wheat; and however repugnant this practice may appear to the English farmer, it is absolutely unavoidable in those districts which are not sufficiently stocked; since cattle of every description refuse to taste the grass the moment it becomes withered.
The artificial food principally cultivated in the colony are turnips, tares, and Cape barley; and for those settlers in particular who have flocks of breeding sheep, the cultivation of them is highly necessary, and contributes materially to the growth and strength of the lambs. On those also who keep dairies, this practice of raising artificial food, is equally incumbent; the natural grasses being quite insufficient to keep milch cows in good heart during the winter, when there is the greatest demand for butter. Good meat, too, is then only to be had with difficulty, and this difficulty is increasing every year. There cannot, therefore, be any doubt that it would answer the purposes even of the grazier to have recourse to artificial means of fattening his stock at that season; since it is then that he would be enabled to obtain the readiest and highest price for his fat cattle.
PRICE OF CATTLE, ETC.
The price of all manner of stock is almost incredibly moderate, considering the short period which has elapsed since the foundation of the colony. A very good horse for the cart or plough may be had from £10 to £15, and a better saddle or gig horse, from £20 to £30, than could be obtained in this country for double the money. Very good milch-cows may be bought from £5 to £10; working oxen for about the same price; and fine young breeding ewes from £1 to £3, according to the quality of their fleece. Low as these prices may appear they are in a great measure fictitious; since there is confessedly more stock of all sorts in the colony, than is necessary for its population. It accordingly frequently happens, particularly at sales by public auction, that stock are to be bought for one-half, and even one-third of the above prices; and there is every probability that before the expiration of ten years, their value will be still more considerably diminished. To be convinced of the truth of this conjecture, we have only to look back a little into the annals of the colony, and see how prodigiously cattle of every description have multiplied. By a census taken at the end of the year 1800, (twelve years after the institution of the colony) the number of horses and mares was only 163; of horned cattle, 1024; and of sheep, 6124. At the end of 1813, the horses and mares had increased to 1891; the horned cattle to 21,513, and the sheep to 65,121: and in the month of November, 1817, the last year of which we have received the census, the numbers were as follow: horses and mares, 3072; horned cattle, 44,753; sheep, 170,420. Thus it will be perceived, that in the space of seventeen years, the stock of horses and mares has increased from 163, their highest number for the first twelve years, to 3072; the stock of horned cattle, from 1044 to 44,753; and the stock of sheep from 6124 to 170,920. This is of itself an increase great beyond all ordinary computation; and it would appear still more surprising if we could add to it the immense numbers of cattle and sheep that have been slaughtered in the same period, for the supply of the king's stores, and for general consumption.
From the foregoing statement is will be evident, that the future increase in the stock will be still more prodigious, and still more considerably outstrip the advance of population. The price therefore of cattle, great and rapid as has been its past declension, must annually experience a still further diminution. Of what will be their probable value in ten years more, it may enable us to form no very inaccurate estimate, by referring to what it was ten years back. In 1808, a cow and calf were sold by public auction for £105, and the price of middling cattle was from £80 to £100. A breeding mare was at the same period worth from 150 to 200 guineas, and ewes from £10 to £20.
These immense prices, however, were the result of monopoly, and consequently in a great measure fictitious; for in 1810, two years after this, a herd of fine cattle were sold for £13 per head. This almost incredible reduction in the value of cattle in so short a period, was occasioned by the supercession of this monopoly by the governor, who in the year 1808, was induced, from the considerable increase that had taken place in the public herds, to issue cows at £28 per head, payable in agricultural produce, to all indiscriminately who chose to purchase them. Hundreds of them, therefore, at this epoch, were distributed among the settlers, and their extreme value insured that degree of care and attention from their owners, which was naturally followed by a rapid increase, and produced in the short lapse of two years, that declension of price which would at first sight appear so astonishing.
Thus it may be perceived, that within the last ten years, stock of all sorts have decreased in price, from £700 to £1,000 per cent. and it is not unreasonable to conclude, that in ten years hence, they will have experienced at least a similar reduction. Should this conjecture be verified, they will be of as little value in the remote parts of the colony, as the horses and cattle on the plains of Buenos Ayres, where any person may make what use he pleases of the carcase, provided he leaves behind him the hide.
PRICE OF LABOUR.
The price of labour is at present very low, and is still further declining in consequence of the demand for it not equalling the supply. Upon the establishment of the Colonial Bank, and the consequent suppression of that vile medium of circulation, termed the colonial currency, between which and British sterling there used to be a difference of value of from £50 to £100 per cent. the price of labour was fixed at the rates contained in the following general order, dated the 7th of December, 1816:
"In consequence of the recent abolition of all colonial currency, and the introduction and establishment of a sterling circulation and consideration in all payments, dealings, transactions, contracts, and agreements, within this territory and its dependencies, his Excellency the Governor having deemed it expedient to take into consideration the general rates and prices of labour and wages within the same, as affected by the alteration of the mode of payments at a sterling rate, or value, and of the degree, measure, and sterling amount of the same, upon a fair and equitable proportion and modus; and having also adopted such measures in that respect as seemed best calculated to fix and make known the same, is pleased hereby to declare, order, and direct, that in addition to the rations according to and equal with the government allowance, the sum of ten pounds sterling per annum to a man convict, and seven pounds sterling to a woman convict, as including the value of the slops allowed, and the sum of seven pounds or five pounds ten shillings exclusive of such slops; computed at three pounds per man, and one pound ten shillings per woman, shall be allowed, claimed, or demandable, or such part or proportion of such sum or sums as shall be equal and according to the period and continuance of actual service, and no more in respect of yearly wages, and in the same manner as yearly wages for the extra work and service of any such male or female convict respectively, duly assigned to any person or persons, by or upon the authority of Government.
"His Excellency is also pleased further to declare, order and direct, that in consideration of the premises, the undermentioned sums, amounts, and charges, and no more with regard to and upon the various denominations of work, labour and services, described and set forth, shall be allowed, claimed, or demandable within this territory and its dependencies in respect thereof".