CHAPTER 17. CHARACTERISTIC ANECDOTES.

The following casual anecdotes, though trivial in themselves, will assist in illustrating some of the peculiarities of the native mind and character.

MIAGO'S IMAGINARY SPEECH AS GOVERNOR.

Speech that the native Miago would have addressed to the aborigines of Perth if he had landed as Governor instead of His Excellency Mr. Hutt. He came into my room directly after the Governor had landed, and made this imaginary address.

Yiee, nap yongar Perth bak-ad-jee yuado--Moon-dee Moondee gurrang, gurrang boola: Mir-ga-na, Mir-ga-na gurrang, gurrang boola: Yal-gon-ga, Yal-gon-ga, gurrang, gurrang boola; yarn bal?

Buck-il-bury Wattup gidjee, yam bal gurrang boola?

Bun-bury gurrang, gurrang boola.

Golam-bidie gwab-ba: Mam-me-rup wan-gow-een boola.

Goo-lam-bidie wilgey nab-bow, yago mial, Goo-lam-bidie donga broo: mam-me-rup meno been boola, mam-me-rup gurrang gaduck, golambidie gid-jee; Dule.

Waumma Governor yool: yahi Perth yongar bak-ad-jee yu-a-do; gwab-ba-litch.

MIAGO'S SPEECH AS GOVERNOR.

Henceforth this people of Perth must not fight. Moon-dee, Moon-dee, you are always quarrelling. Mir-ga-na, Mir-ga-na, you are always quarrelling. Yal-gon-ga, Yal-gon-ga, you are quarrelsome--what is the reason of this?

Bucklebury speared Wattup, what reason had he to be in such a passion (or, why was he so very angry)?

Bun-bury, you are very quarrelsome.

The young men behave very well, the old ones are always wrangling.

The young men paint themselves, and the women look at them; the young men are not aware of this, but the old men are very jealous--and being in a passion spear the young men--this is very wrong.

Now another Governor is come, and you people of Perth must fight no more. This is very good.

WARRUP'S ACCOUNT OF HIS JOURNEY WITH MR. ROE.

The following is Warrup's account of his journey with Mr. Roe in search of the party left by me under Mr. Walker. (See above.):

1st day.

At Dundalup we ate fish; then onwards, onwards, onwards, till we slept at Neerroba.

2nd day.

Onwards, onwards, till we reached Nowergoop, where the horses drank water; then onwards, onwards, onwards, until Manbabee, where we ate flesh and bread. Onwards, onwards, onwards, until Yungee, where we shot ducks, and the horses drank water. Onwards, onwards, onwards, onwards, to Boongarrup, where we slept one sleep.

3rd day.

Onwards through a forest, onwards through a forest, onwards through a forest. We slept at Neergammy, a pleasant resting-place; the land was good, the herbage good; pleasant was our resting-place, and our hut was good.

4th day.

Onwards, onwards, onwards, we entered a woody country. Onwards, through a forest, onwards through a forest; we now see the waters of Kajeelup: we eat flesh and bread. Onwards through the forest, onwards through the forest, onwards through the forest. We see the tracks of natives; we shout aloud, and then proceed conversing with natives; they sit down.*

(*Footnote. They halt or remain.)

Onwards go we, onwards, onwards, onwards; the horses drink water; by-and-bye we see tracks. Onwards, onwards, onwards; we see a large water; we shoot ducks. On the one side we see two waters, on the other side one water we see. Onwards, onwards, onwards, onwards, onwards; we see no other water. Onwards through the forest, onwards through the forest, onwards through the forest; we see a river. You had here eaten freshwater mussels: at this river we sleep. Barramba is the place's name.

5th day.

Onwards through the forest, through the forest, through the forest, through the forest onwards; water we see not. Through the forest onwards; through the forest onwards; we see a water, but a worthless water. Yours and Kaiber's footsteps we see. Here there is no grass. You had here shot a bird--a cockatoo you shot. Maribara was this place's name.

Onwards through the forest, through the forest onwards, through the forest onwards; we see no other water; the herbage is worthless. We still go onwards, onwards through the forest. We see natives; a few natives we see: the men are two, the women one, the children two. We see the place called Nowergup.

We say, "Where is there water? here the water is bad." The natives say, "Yonder the water is good, here it is bad: at Boranyup the water is good."

We go onwards, onwards, onwards: at Boranyup we sleep; rain falls as we sleep at Boranyup.

6th day.

Onwards through the forest, onwards through the forest, onwards through the forest some of the others sit down; Auger sits down; Hunt sits down. Mr. Roe, Mr. Spofforth, and I on horseback, go onwards, onwards, onwards, onwards, through the forest onwards, through the forest onwards, through the forest onwards, through the forest onwards. We see the sea; then onwards, onwards, onwards; along the sea-shore onwards, along the sea-shore onwards, along the sea-shore onwards. We see the tracks of white men.

Then we turn back again, away we go back again, back again away; through the forest away, through the forest away, through the forest away; back again. We move, move, till we sit at Boranyup; we then eat kangaroo; Hunt and Auger had brought it in. At Boranyup we lie down: we sleep.

7th day.

The next day away, away, away, away, returning, returning, on our tracks returning, on our tracks returning, on our tracks returning. At Barramba we sit down: we eat bread and meat; they eat freshwater mussels; the natives eat not freshwater mussels.

Away, away, away, away, away; we see the water of Djunjup; we shoot game. Away, away, away, through a forest away, through a forest away; we see no water. Through a forest away; along our tracks away, along our tracks away, along our tracks away, along our tracks away. We sleep at Ka-jil-up: rain falls; the water here is good: the horses feed, well did the horses feed.

8th day.

Away, away; along our tracks away, along our tracks away; hills ascending: then pleasantly away, pleasantly away, away; through a forest away, through a forest away, through a forest away; we see a water--the water of Goonmarrarup. Along the river away, along the river away; a short distance along the river we go: then away, away, away, through a forest away; a short distance through a forest we go.

Then along another river away, away; we cross the river; away, a short distance away. At Neergammy we sleep, raising huts.

The others continue returning; we go away, away: in the forest we see no water; we see no footsteps; we see some papers, the papers put by Mr. Mortimer we see: still we go onwards, along the sea away, along the sea away, along the sea away: through the bush away, through the bush away: then along the sea away, along the sea away. We see white men--three of them we see; they cry out, "Where is water;" water we give them--brandy and water we give them. We sleep near the sea.

Away, away go we (I, Mr. Roe, and Kinchela) along the shore away, along the shore away, along the shore away. We see no fresh water; along the shore away, along the shore away. We see a paper, the paper of Mortimer and Spofforth. Away we go, away, away, along the shore away, away, away, a long distance we go. I see Mr. Smith's footsteps ascending a sandhill, onwards I go regarding his footsteps. I see Mr. Smith dead. We commence digging the earth.

Two sleeps had he been dead; greatly did I weep, and much I grieved. In his blanket folding him, we scraped away the earth.

We scrape earth into the grave, we scrape the earth into the grave, a little wood we place in it. Much earth we heap upon it, much earth we throw up. No dogs can dig there, so much earth we throw up. The sun had just inclined to the westward as we laid him in the ground.

The following are extracts from a journal kept by me whilst resident at King George's Sound.

ROBBERY BY PEERAT'S WIVES. TRANSACTIONS WITH THE NATIVES IN A CASE OF POTATO STEALING.

Thursday January 23.

Directly after breakfast a soldier came to me with a complaint that the natives had last night robbed his garden in the settlement of nearly one hundred weight of potatoes; I was determined to have here no repetition of scenes similar to what had recently taken place; and therefore resolved to act promptly and vigorously upon this first offence.

My first object was, in my punishment, not to involve the innocent and guilty together, which is too often done by the Europeans in these colonies.

I therefore got hold of an intelligent native of the name of Moyee-e-nan, and, accompanied by him, visited the garden whence the potatoes had been stolen; he found the tracks of three natives and, availing himself of the faculty which they possess of telling who has passed from their footmarks, he informed me that the three thieves had been the two wives of a native of the name Peerat, and a little boy named Dal-be-an, the son of Peerat. Being now well acquainted with the natives I was well satisfied that this evidence was of the most conclusive nature, and proceeded to act upon it by trying to arrest the delinquents; but I found that they had, immediately after committing the theft, walked off into the bush, thereby hoping to avoid suspicion and with the intention of remaining absent until the affair had blown over.

MEASURES FOR APPREHENDING THEM.

My mind was soon made up to pursue my friend Peerat and his fugitive wives, but it was necessary that I should proceed with great caution in order not to alarm the guilty parties when they saw us approaching, in which case I should have had no chance of apprehending them; and I did not intend to adopt the popular system of shooting them when they ran away. I therefore determined to take no Europeans, but only four natives who could track the delinquents.

Previously however to my quitting the town one gentleman joined me, and thus reinforced we started on Peerat's tracks; these we followed for about seven miles in a west by north direction from the settlement, when we suddenly saw the bush set on fire and thus became aware of our proximity to a party of natives. My European friend was here unfortunately taken ill, and, as the natives were evidently more numerous than I expected to have found them, I was sorry to lose his services at this period; he however faithfully promised to await my return, and I thus knew that I had a point d'appui to retire on in the event of anything taking place.

Accompanied by the natives I now pressed forward in the direction of the fire, and, after proceeding for about two miles further in a west by north direction, I fell in with several natives, one of whom was old Tooleegatwalee, well known in the settlement. I at once intimated to Mr. Tooleegatwalee and his friends the object of my mission; I told them that Peerat's wives and son had stolen potatoes, that I had come out to make them prisoners, that if they were given up to me they should only undergo the regular punishment for petty theft; but if they were not delivered over that I would stop the regular allowance of flour which was issued to all the natives every two months, thus punishing them all; and that I would moreover return home, and then come out with a party of soldiers and fire upon Peerat and his party wherever I found them. This last part of my announcement was made in a very decided tone, and with a most ferocious look.

NATIVE DELIBERATIONS.

The natives hereupon entered into a deliberation amongst themselves, and eventually were unanimously agreed on several points, as follows:

1. That stealing potatoes was a very heinous offence, more particularly in women.

2, That women were notorious thieves, and altogether worse characters than men.

3, That beating women was an every-day occurrence.

4, That losing flour was a great bore; and

5, That in consequence of the above considerations, they would give Peerat, his wives, and son, up to me.

Each of these propositions was lengthily discussed by them, but when they were all agreed to, they came in a body and asked me, did I speak the truth, and lie not, when I said that I myself was not angry with Peerat and his wives, and that they should not be killed but only slightly punished? I assured them that I told the truth, and lied not. We then proceeded in a body in search of Peerat, whom we found with some more natives about half a mile further on.

DISCUSSION WITH PEERAT.

He waited quietly to receive us, not having indeed the slightest idea of what was the object of my unexpected visit; when however he heard what I wanted he abused his wives in most unmeasured terms, and assured me that he would thrash them soundly, but as to giving them up prisoners, or his son either, that he declared he would not do; and then very openly and fairly challenged any one of the other natives, or all of them together, to take him up, assuring them that he would spear the first man through the heart that attempted to lay a finger on him. I interfered so far in this dispute as to announce to Peerat that I considered my own person as sacred, and I then cocked both barrels of my double-barrelled gun and concluded by assuring him I should shoot him if he resisted me.

All native altercations are vociferous and noisy in the extreme, and are usually accompanied with a great deal of running and leaping about and quivering of spears; these circumstances I now took advantage of, and, whilst the others threatened to spear one another in all imaginable places, I wended my solitary way towards Peerat's fire, where I discovered Master Dalbean, but could see nothing whatever of the ladies, who, I presume, were absent digging roots.

HIS PLEADINGS FOR HIS SON.

The young native was seized hold of before he could attempt to escape, and, as I told him if he now moved I should shoot him, he accompanied me very quietly; the others meanwhile capering about and abusing one another in the distance. Peerat however soon found out what had taken place and came running after me. These natives are always ardently attached to their children, and this the boy's father now evinced in the strongest manner: he first of all declared that the boy had been asleep with him, and that it was the mother only who had stolen; and he produced about a dozen witnesses who all asserted that this was the case. I however refuted this evidence by mentioning the fact of his footmarks being in the garden. They then urged that Peerat's second wife had also been engaged in the theft, and that she was just the size of the boy; this however again was over-ruled from the fact of her footmarks having been also seen there.

PEERAT'S SON SECURED.

The father now urged upon me the youth of the boy, and that he was under the influence of the mother, and then fairly wept upon his child's neck, who begged his father, and all the other natives by name, to save him. I was now holding him by the wrist, for the feeling of the public began at this affecting exhibition to turn against me, even my own natives urging me to let the little fellow go; had I followed the dictates of my own heart I should have done so, but I knew that by being in this instance very determined I should effect eventually much good. I therefore held fast by my prisoner. I now saw some of the other natives giving Peerat spears, which is always a sign that they espouse a man's quarrel and expect him to make use of the weapons they give him. As matters therefore now were rather a serious aspect, I again told Peerat that I personally had no cause of quarrel with him, but that I was resolved not to allow either the natives to wrong the Europeans or the Europeans to wrong the natives; that it was far better for the natives themselves that I, an impartial person, should see that they were properly punished for theft, than that the Europeans should fire indiscriminately upon them, as had lately been done in another quarter; that I should now talk no more, but that if he did not instantly take himself off and bring his wives in to the settlement to be punished I would shoot him. He proceeded again to answer me, but I cut him short by saying that if he spoke again I would shoot him at once; I thus had the last speech and therefore, as a matter of course, was in possession of the public favour: Peerat was consequently hurried off by his friends, whilst myself, the young prisoner, and two of the natives who had accompanied me, started on our return for the settlement.

Although the affair had so far terminated well I was by no means sure that Peerat might not after my departure induce the others to attempt a rescue. I therefore hurried on to the spot where I had left my European friend, but I only found a slip of paper on a tree, with the following words on it: "Returned slowly to the settlement." We moved rapidly on again and reached Albany without further adventure, and on our arrival I lodged Dalbean in the jail.

January 24.

Peerat did not bring in his wives, and to all the solicitations which were offered me on the part of the natives for the release of my little prisoner I answered that, when Peerat's wives were brought in and given over to the hands of justice, I would punish the boy and release him; but if the other delinquents were not given up I should conceive it to be a sign that the natives were not satisfied with my decision, and therefore send the boy on to Swan River to be tried. I further added that, if Peerat did not in the course of the next day appear with his wives, I should cease to act as mediator, and taking a party of soldiers would go out and apprehend him.

HIS ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE.

January 25.

This morning information was given me that little Dalbean had made an attempt to break out of jail. I therefore went up to the jail with another magistrate and found that the little fellow had yesterday, during the absence of the turnkey, taken up a loose stone from the floor and had battered a hole in the door with it. It evinced altogether more strength and determination than one could have supposed such a boy to have been endowed with. When I taxed him with it he stoutly denied it, asserting that whilst he was asleep sorcerers from the north, who had a spite against him, had entered the cell through some airholes in the wall and had done this; and in spite of all our cross-questioning and charging him with falsehood he still persisted in the same tale, and really appeared to think that he could persuade us of the truth of the assertion. I told him that it was his duty to have taken care that these sorcerers had not injured the door, and that in future if he did not give the alarm when they came he should be well whipped for neglect, and that in the meantime I had a great mind to have him whipped for telling a story; I however satisfied myself by giving him a severe lecture upon the crime of lying. He defended himself upon this head by ingenious arguments, altogether overlooking the abstract question of whether lying was a virtue or a vice, and defending himself solely upon the plea of its general usefulness and prevalence in the world. I got rather worsted in the argument, and therefore, confining myself to admonitions and a few common-place maxims, I departed.

PEERAT'S WIVES SURRENDERED. THEIR PUNISHMENT.

In the course of the forenoon Peerat presented himself at my window. The tale he told was a very pitiful one. He had two wives, and to govern them both required no ordinary ability; he assured me that he had beaten them both soundly, but notwithstanding he could not induce them to come into the settlement until, finally losing his temper, he had threatened to spear them, and had thus induced them to follow him; he assured me that he had done nothing but weep and lament since he had last seen me, at one time for the loss of his son, and then again at the obstinacy and bad temper of his wives, and as some recompense for his sufferings he begged to be allowed to beat his wives himself.

I told him to bring them at once to the garden they had robbed, and then, followed by several natives, I repaired to the appointed place. The native women soon appeared, dreadfully cut and mangled from the beating they had already suffered. One was a nice-looking girl, about fourteen, but an incorrigible thief. Peerat threw back his skin to give his arm fair play, and then, brandishing his meerro, was going to hit her a tremendous blow upon the head, which must have laid it open. The poor girl stood with her back towards her husband, trembling and crying bitterly. I caught Peerat's arm, picked up a little switch from the ground, and told him to beat her on the shoulders with that. He gave her two slight blows, or rather taps, in order to know where it was I meant him to strike; but the poor girl cried so bitterly from fear that I stopped him, told her that for this time she should be pardoned, and then called the other woman up, but she had already been severely beaten and had at that moment a little child sitting on her shoulder, who cried piteously when he saw his mother weeping, so I let her also go free. Before they started however I gave them and the assembled natives a lecture, talking to them in a ferocious style about my future intentions in the event of robbery being committed, and warning them not to judge of me from my present clemency.

During the five months I had been at King George's Sound this was the first act of petty theft, or indeed of theft of any kind, committed by the natives; there had on several occasions been as many as two hundred in the settlement who had no means of subsistence but a chance job from the colonists, and the spontaneous productions of the earth, yet during that period the only criminals had been those above mentioned, namely, a woman, a girl, and a boy, who had rooted up some potatoes from a retired garden, and they had even purposely left the large potatoes and had only taken away the small ones, in the hope that by so doing they would lessen the crime.

RELEASE OF PEERAT'S SON.

In the afternoon I walked up to the jail attended by Peerat, his wives, and a crowd of natives, to release little Dalbean. Peerat and myself alone entered the jail; I told the jailor to hand him the whip, he took it, and said, "Yes, yes, I will strike him; let not another beat him, Governor."

The door of the cell was then opened and the little boy was led out: his father ran up to him, caught him in his arms, and began kissing him; having done this he told him he was going to beat him. The little fellow did not answer a word, but, standing as firm and erect as possible, presented his back to him, the father gave him one blow, and it was ended--justice was satisfied; the criminals had surrendered to salutary laws, of which they had but a vague and undefined knowledge. It was their first offence; I explained to them the nature of the laws they had broken, warned them to be careful in their future conduct, and let them go. Little Dalbean, directly we got outside the jail, walked up to me, took my hand, and squeezed it, and then turned to his mother; he just looked at her, she cried, but did not dare to kiss him, or to show any symptom of emotion; and the whole party, after showering thanks innumerable upon my head, moved off, saying, "What a good fellow--what a good fellow;" or, to give a literal translation, "One good man--one good man."

Sunday January 26.

Old Manniotte, a native dressed in an old uniform, attended the church service as usual this day and was apparently as attentive as any other member of the congregation.

JUDICIAL CASE OF ASSAULT.

February 14.

This evening a native came up to me as I was in the Commissary's house, and said: "Djanga kain nganya goree bomb-gur"; "A white man has just struck me." At the same time he showed me his side which was severely bruised. I accompanied him to the beach and there found a number of liberty men from some American whalers walking about. There were also several natives on the beach who were in a state of great excitement, and came hurrying up to me. I had sent for the constable, and as I was coming up I saw a sailor moving off to the boats, on which the natives all shouted out, "Now, now, walk away."

The natives were soon satisfied that strict justice would be done them, and as the sailor who had struck the native was a man belonging to the Russel, commanded by Captain Long, who had previously taken me to Shark Bay, it was arranged with him that the offender should be brought before me at 11 o'clock the next day to answer the charge.

February 15.

This morning Taalwurt the native, attended by his various friends, came to me before I went to the Courthouse, to insist upon his right to speak first, as he appeared to think that a great deal depended upon his having this advantage over his opponent. I explained to him that, as plaintiff, this right of course belonged to him, and he thereupon withdrew, followed by his adherents. At the appointed hour I repaired to the Courthouse and found the natives assembled; the Europeans had not yet arrived. I called therefore upon Taalwurt for an information, which was as follows:

THE ACCUSATION. ATTEMPTS AT ELOQUENCE. ADJUDICATION OF THE CASE.

Colony of Western Australia, to wit: The information and complaint of Taalwurt Tdondarup, of Albany, in the said Colony, made before me, George Grey, Esquire, one of H.M. Justices of the Peace in and for the said Colony, the fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty.

The said Taalwurt Tdondarup complaineth and saith:

"Nganya kype yoor-ril gool-gur, boye bomb-gur."

"I in the water carelessly walked along, a stone struck me."

But at this point his eloquence totally deserted him, and he was pulled back by his friends, who pushed forward another native, and who stated as follows:

Lindoll Mongalung saith: "Wal-bur wat-to Taalwurt: Djanga Taalwurt kyle-gut bomb-gur.

"Taalwurt djanga neyp bomb-gur, kyle-gut Taalwurt neyp bomb-gur: Waum djanga Taalwurt matta boorn boola bomb-gur: Taalwurt yoor-ril watto, waum djunga nar-rail ngob-barn boye koombar bomb-gar."

"Along the beach was walking Taalwurt; one of the dead struck him under the ear. Taalwurt then very slightly struck this one of the dead; under the ear Taalwurt very lightly struck him. Another of the dead then struck Taalwurt very forcibly on the legs with a stick: Taalwurt went walking along quickly; another of the dead, in the ribs with an exceedingly big stone, extremely hard hit him."

A murmur of applause ran through the assembled natives. The ngob-burn boye, koom-bur bomb-gur, or exceedingly big-stone, extremely hard hit, was evidently regarded by them as a masterpiece of eloquence; and the contrast between this and the neyp bomb-gur, very gently struck, of Mr. Taalwurt, undoubtedly evinced its superiority in their estimation; but as Taalwurt was a stout able fellow, and one by no means given to deal gentle blows when in a passion, I did not place implicit faith in this poetical narration. I had however no doubt that Taalwurt had been first struck and was thus the injured party; but now I knew he had returned the blow I was also sure that he had given at least as good a one as he had taken.

The case therefore did not tell in Taalwurt's favour as much as I expected it would; and on the offender being produced, I found that he was a native from the island of Timor, and not much more civilized than his opponent. The mate of the vessel who came up with him stated that the man bore an excellent character, and that he was willing to make any compensation Taalwurt might require. Before the case came on I had explained this to the King George's Sound native, who compounded the matter for half-a-crown, and then walked off with his friends, fully resolved to get assaulted again upon the first good opportunity.

CHAPTER 18. INFLUENCE OF EUROPEANS ON THE NATIVES.

CAUSES WHY IT HAS NOT HITHERTO BEEN BENEFICIAL. INFLUENCE OF EUROPEANS ON THE NATIVES.

After reviewing the condition of the Aborigines of Australia as it appears to have existed from time immemorial it will not be irrelevant to examine what change or melioration of their social state is likely to arise from the settlement of a civilised European race among them.

The colony of Swan River differing materially in the elements of its population from those established in the eastern parts of this continent and in Van Diemen's Land, a corresponding change in the intercourse existing between the natives and the white population might naturally be looked for.

In modern times, with the exception of the new settlement of South Australia, no colony has been established upon principles apparently so favourable for the development of the better qualities of the Aborigines, and with so fair a chance of their ultimate civilization.

The apparent advantages are that no convicts have been brought to Western Australia to corrupt the manners of either sex, or to lead them astray by their vicious example; and that a great want of labour has been always felt, so that any assistance that could have been procured from the natives would have been a material benefit to the settlers. With these advantages we might have hoped to see some important results.

I wish not to assert that the natives have been often treated with wanton cruelty, but I do not hesitate to say that no real amelioration of their condition has been effected, and that much of negative evil and indirect injury has been inflicted on them.

The first great fault committed was that no distinct rules and regulations were drawn up for the protection of the Aborigines. Their land is taken from them, and the only benefit given in return is that they are made British subjects, that is, having a right to the protection of British Laws, and at the same time becoming amenable to them.

WRETCHED STATE OF THE NATIVE POPULATION.

All past experience has shown that the existence of two different races in a country, one of which, from any local circumstances, is considered inferior to the other, is one of the greatest evils under which a nation can labour; a more striking instance of which could not be adduced than is shown in the present state of the free coloured population in America.

In contemplating, then, the future destiny of the Australian races, at the same time laying aside all thought of their amalgamation with Europeans, the prospect is most melancholy. Only two cases can arise; either they must disappear before advancing civilization, successively dying off ere the truths of christianity or the benefits of civilization have produced any effect on them, or they must exist in the midst of a superior numerical population, a despised and inferior race; and none but those who have visited a country in which such a race exists can duly appreciate the evils both moral and physical which such a degraded position entails upon them.

CAUSES OF THEIR DEPRESSED CONDITION. PREJUDICES AGAINST THEM.

If we enquire into the causes which tend to retain them in their present depressed condition we shall find that the chief one is prejudice. The Australians have been most unfairly represented as a very inferior race, in fact as one occupying a scale in the creation which nearly places them on a level with the brutes, and some years must elapse ere a prejudice so firmly rooted as this can be altogether eradicated, but certainly a more unfounded one never had possession of the public mind.

INADEQUACY OF SUPPORT BY LABOUR.

Amongst the evils which the natives suffer in their present position one is an uncertain and irregular demand for their labour, that is to say, they may one day have plenty of means for exerting their industry afforded them by the settlers, and the next their services are not required; so that they are necessarily compelled to have recourse to their former irregular and wandering habits.

Another is the very insufficient reward for the services they render. As an example of this kind I will state the instance of a man who worked during the whole season as hard and as well as any white man at getting in the harvest for some settlers, and who only received bread and sixpence a day whilst the ordinary labourers would earn at least fifteen shillings. In many instances they only receive a scanty allowance of food, so much so that some settlers have told me that the natives left them because they had not enough to eat.

The evil consequence of this is that a native, finding he can gain as much by the combined methods of hunting and begging as he can by working, naturally prefers the former and much more attractive mode of procuring subsistence to the latter one.

Many of the natives have not only a good idea of the value of money but even hoard it up for some particular purpose; several of them have shown me their little treasure of a few shillings, and have told me it was their intention to save more until they had enough to buy a horse, a gun, or some wished-for article, but their improvidence has always got the better of their thriftiness, and this sum has eventually been spent in treating their friends to bread and rice.

EVIL EFFECTS FROM THEIR FEROCIOUS CUSTOMS REMAINING UNCHECKED.

Another evil is the very extraordinary position in which they are placed with regard to two distinct sets of laws; that is, they are allowed to exercise their own laws upon one another, and are again held amenable to British law where British subjects are concerned. Thus no protection is afforded them by the British law against the violence or cruelty of one of their own race, and the law has hitherto only been known to them as the means of punishment, but never as a code from which they can claim protection or benefit.

The following instances will prove my assertion: In the month of October 1838 I saw early one morning some natives in the public street in Perth, in the act of murdering a native woman, close to the store of the Messrs. Habgood; many Europeans were present, amongst others a constable; but there was no interference on their part until eventually the life of the woman was saved by the courage of Mr. Brown, a gardener in Perth, who rushed in amongst the natives and knocked down the man who was holding her; she then escaped into the house of the Messrs. Habgood, who treated the poor creature with the utmost humanity. She was however wounded in several places in the most severe and ghastly manner.

A letter I received from Mr. A. Bussel (a settler in the southern part of the colony) in May 1839 shows that the same scenes are enacted all over it. In this case their cow-keeper (the native whose burial is narrated above) was speared by the others. He was at the time the hired servant of Europeans, performing daily a stated service for them; yet they slew him in open daylight, without any cause of provocation being given by him.

Again, in October, 1838, the sister of a settler in the northern district told me that, shortly before this period, she had, as a female servant, a most interesting little native girl, not more than ten or eleven years of age. This girl had just learned all the duties belonging to her employment, and was regarded in the family as a most useful servant, when some natives, from a spirit of revenge, murdered this inoffensive child in the most barbarous manner, close to the house; her screams were actually heard by the Europeans under whose protection and in whose service she was living, but they were not in time to save her life. This same native had been guilty of many other barbarous murders, one of which he had committed in the district of the Upper Swan, in the actual presence of Europeans. In June 1839 he was still at large, unmolested, even occasionally visiting Perth.

CAUSES OF THEIR ATTACHMENT TO THEIR ROVING AND SAVAGE LIFE.

Their fondness for the bush and the habits of savage life is fixed and perpetuated by the immense boundary placed by circumstances between themselves and the whites, which no exertions on their part can overpass, and they consequently relapse into a state of hopeless passive indifference.

I will state a remarkable instance of this: The officers of the Beagle took away with them a native of the name of Miago, who remained absent with them for several months. I saw him on the north-west coast, on board the Beagle, apparently perfectly civilized; he waited at the gun-room mess, was temperate (never tasting spirits) attentive, cheerful, and remarkably clean in his person. The next time I saw him was at Swan River, where he had been left on the return of the Beagle. He was then again a savage, almost naked, painted all over, and had been concerned in several murders. Several persons here told me, "you see the taste for a savage life was strong in him, and he took to the bush again directly." Let us pause for a moment and consider.

Miago, when he was landed, had amongst the white people none who would be truly friends of his. They would give him scraps from their table, but the very outcasts of the whites would not have treated him as an equal, they had no sympathy with him, he could not have married a white woman, he had no certain means of subsistence open to him, he never could have been either a husband or a father if he had lived apart from his own people; where amongst the whites was he to find one who would have filled for him the place of his black mother, whom he is much attached to? what white man would have been his brother? what white woman his sister? He had two courses left open to him: he could either have renounced all natural ties and have led a hopeless, joyless life amongst the whites, ever a servant, ever an inferior being; or he could renounce civilization and return to the friends of his childhood, and to the habits of his youth. He chose the latter course, and I think that I should have done the same.

SUGGESTIONS ON THE MEANS OF PROMOTING THEIR CIVILIZATION.

The information I had collected regarding the Aborigines of Western Australia encouraged me to address a report to Lord John Russell, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, embracing the general principles which I considered would best promote the civilization of the race. This report having been approved, copies of it were sent to the Governors of the Australian and New Zealand settlements, and with a transcript of it I shall now conclude my work:*

(*Footnote. [This letter has subsequently been printed for Parliament at page 43 of the Sessional Paper Number 311 of 1841, the Colonization of New Zealand. ED.])

Mauritius, June 4 1840.

MY LORD,

I have the honour to submit to your Lordship a report upon the best means of promoting the civilization of the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia, which report is founded upon a careful study of the language, prejudices, and traditional customs of this people.

Feeling anxious to render this report as complete as possible I have delayed transmitting it to your Lordship until the latest possible period; portions of it have in the interim been laid before some of the local governments in Australia, and a few of the suggestions contained in it have been already acted upon.

But as so small a portion of Australia is as yet occupied, and the important task of so conducting the occupation of new districts as to benefit the aborigines in the greatest possible degree yet remains to be performed, I have thought that it would be agreeable to your Lordship to be put in possession of all such facts relating to this interesting subject as are at present known.

None but general principles, equally applicable to all portions of the continent of Australia, are embodied in this report; and I am particularly solicitous that that portion of it which commences at the 21st paragraph should receive consideration from your Lordship, as the whole machinery required to bring this plan into operation now exists in the different Australian colonies, and its full development would entail no expense whatever upon either the Home or local Governments.

I have, etc.,

(Signed) G. GREY,

Captain 83rd Regiment,

Commanding Australian Expedition.

Right Honourable Lord John Russell, etc. etc. etc.

REPORT UPON THE BEST MEANS OF PROMOTING THE CIVILIZATION OF THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF AUSTRALIA.

1. The aborigines of Australia having hitherto resisted all efforts which have been made for their civilization, it would appear that, if they are capable of being civilized, it can be shown that all the systems on which these efforts have been founded contain some common error, or that each of them involved some erroneous principle; the former supposition appears to be the true one, for they all contained one common element, they all started with one recognized principle, the presence of which in the scheme must necessarily have entailed its failure.

2. This principle was that, although the natives should, as far as European property and European subjects were concerned, be made amenable to British laws, yet so long as they only exercised their own customs upon themselves, and not too immediately in the presence of Europeans, they should be allowed to do so with impunity.

3. This principle originated in philanthropic motives and a total ignorance of the peculiar traditional laws of this people, which laws, differing from those of any other known race, have necessarily imparted to the people subject to them a character different from all other races; and hence arises the anomalous state in which they have been found.

4. They are as apt and intelligent as any other race of men I am acquainted with; they are subject to the same afflictions, appetites, and passions as other men, yet in many points of character they are totally dissimilar to them; and, from the peculiar code of laws of this people, it would appear not only impossible that any nation subject to them could ever emerge from a savage state, but even that no race, however highly endowed, however civilized, could in other respects remain long in a state of civilization if they were submitted to the operation of such barbarous customs.

5. The plea generally set up in defence of this principle is that the natives of this country are a conquered people, and that it is an act of generosity to allow them the full power of exercising their own laws upon themselves; but this plea would appear to be inadmissible; for, in the first place, savage and traditional customs should not be confounded with a regular code of laws; and secondly, when Great Britain insures to a conquered country the privilege of preserving its own laws, all persons resident in this territory become amenable to the same laws, and proper persons are selected by the Government to watch over their due and equitable administration; nothing of this kind either exists or can exist with regard to the customs of the natives of Australia; between these two cases then there is no apparent analogy.

6. I would submit therefore that it is necessary from the moment the aborigines of this country are declared British subjects, they should, as far as possible, be taught that the British laws are to supersede their own, so that any native who is suffering under their own customs may have the power of an appeal to those of Great Britain; or, to put this in its true light, that all authorized persons should, in all instances, be required to protect a native from the violence of his fellows, even though they be in the execution of their own laws.

7. So long as this is not the case the older natives have at their disposal the means of effectually preventing the civilization of any individuals of their own tribe, and those among them who may be inclined to adapt themselves to the European habits and mode of life will be deterred from so doing by their fear of the consequences that the displeasure of others may draw down upon them.

8. So much importance am I disposed to attach to this point that I do not hesitate to assert my full conviction that, whilst those tribes which are in communication with Europeans are allowed to execute their barbarous laws and customs upon one another, so long will they remain hopelessly immersed in their present state of barbarism: and, however unjust such a proceeding might at first sight appear, I believe that the course pointed out by true humanity would be to make them from the very commencement amenable to the British laws, both as regards themselves and Europeans; for I hold it to be imagining a contradiction to suppose that individuals subject to savage and barbarous laws can rise into a state of civilization which those laws have a manifest tendency to destroy and overturn.

9. I have known many instances of natives who have been almost or quite civilized being compelled by other natives to return to the bush; more particularly girls who have been betrothed in their infancy and who, on approaching the years of puberty, have been compelled by their husbands to join them.

10. It is difficult to ascertain the exact effect the institutions of a country produce upon the character of its inhabitants; but it may be readily admitted that, if two savage races of equal mental endowments, and with the same capacity for civilization, were subject to two distinct sets of laws, the one mild and favourable to the development of civilization, the other bloodthirsty and opposed to it, the former race might gradually be brought to a knowledge of Christianity and civilization, whilst precisely similar efforts made with regard to the latter might be attended with no beneficial result.

11. Again, it would be unfair to consider the laws of the natives of Australia as any indication of the real character of this people; for many races who were at one period subject to the most barbarous laws have, since new institutions have been introduced amongst them, taken their rank among the civilized nations of the earth.

12. To punish the aborigines severely for the violation of laws of which they are ignorant would be manifestly cruel and unjust; but to punish them in the first instance slightly for the violation of these laws would inflict no great injury on them, whilst by always punishing them when guilty of a crime, without reference to the length of period that had elapsed between its perpetration and their apprehension, at the same time fully explaining to them the measure of punishment that would await them in the event of a second commission of the same fault, would teach them gradually the laws to which they were henceforth to be amenable, and would show them that crime was always eventually, although it might be remotely, followed by punishment.

13. I imagine that this course would be more merciful than that at present adopted; namely, to punish them for the violation of a law they are ignorant of, when this violation affects a European, and yet to allow them to commit this crime as often as they like when it only regards themselves; for this latter course teaches them not that certain actions, such, for instance, as murder, etc., are generally criminal, but only that they are criminal when exercised towards the white people, and the impression consequently excited in their minds is that these acts only excite our detestation when exercised towards ourselves, and that their criminality consists not in having committed a certain odious action, but in having violated our prejudices.

14. In the vicinity of towns where there is a certain judicial force, and where, on account of the facility of obtaining food, the natives always congregate, it would, by a steady and determined line of conduct, be comparatively easy to enforce an observance of the British laws; but, even partially to attain this object in the remote and thinly settled districts, it is necessary that each colony should possess an efficient mounted police, a portion of whom should be constantly in movement from district to district, whilst another portion, resident in a central situation, should be ready to act instantly in any direction where their presence was required. I do not apprehend that this body need be numerous, for their utility would depend more on their activity and efficiency than on their numbers. It is absolutely necessary, for the cause of humanity and good order, that such a force should exist; for so long as distant settlers are left unprotected and are compelled to take care of and avenge themselves, so long must great barbarities necessarily be committed; and the only way to prevent great crime on the part of the natives, and massacres of these poor creatures as the punishment of such crimes, is to check and punish their excesses in their infancy: it is only after becoming emboldened by frequent petty successes that they have hitherto committed those crimes which have drawn down so fearful a vengeance upon them.

15. The greatest obstacle that presents itself in considering the application of the British laws to these aborigines is the fact that, from their ignorance of the nature of an oath, or of the obligations it imposes, they are not competent to give evidence before a court of justice; and hence in many cases it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain evidence on which a prisoner could be convicted.

16. One mode of evading this difficulty would be to empower the court to receive evidence from the natives in all cases relating solely to themselves without the witness being sworn, only allowing testimony of this nature to hold good when borne out by very strong circumstantial evidence; secondly to empower the court always to receive evidence from natives called on by a native prisoner in his defence, such evidence being subject to the before-named restrictions.

17. The fact of the natives being unable to give testimony in a court of justice is a great hardship on them, and they consider it as such; the reason that occasions their disability for the performance of this function is at present quite beyond their comprehension, and it is impossible to explain it to them. I have been a personal witness to a case in which a native was most undeservedly punished, from the circumstance of the natives who were the only persons who could speak as to certain exculpatory facts not being permitted to give their evidence.

18. There are certain forms in our colonial courts of justice as at present conducted which it is impossible to make a savage comprehend. I attended one quarter-sessions at which a number of natives were tried on a great variety of charges. Several of them were induced to plead guilty, and on this admission of their having committed the crime sentence was pronounced upon them. But when others denied their guilt, and found that this denial produced no corresponding result in their favour, whilst at the same time they were not permitted to bring forward other natives to deny it also, and to explain the matter for them, they became perfectly confounded. I was subsequently applied to by several intelligent natives to explain this mystery to them, but I failed in giving such an explanation as would satisfy them.

19. The natives being ignorant of our laws, of the forms of our courts of justice, of the language in which the proceedings are conducted, and the sentence pronounced upon them, it would appear that but a very imperfect protection is afforded them by having present in the court merely an interpreter (very often an ignorant man) who knows nothing of legal proceedings and can be but very imperfectly acquainted with the native language: it must also be borne in mind that the natives are not tried by a jury of their peers, but by a jury having interests directly opposed to their own, and who can scarcely avoid being in some degree prejudiced against native offenders. From these considerations I would suggest that it should be made binding upon the local government in all instances (or at least in such instances as affect life) to provide a counsel to defend native prisoners.

20. Some other principal preventives to the civilization of the aborigines, in addition to those I have already stated, are:

1. The existence of an uncertain and irregular demand for their labour: thus they may have one day sufficient opportunity afforded them for the exertion of their industry, whilst the next day their services are not required, so that they are compelled once more to have recourse to their former irregular and wandering habits.

2. Their generally receiving a very inadequate reward for the services they render; this, combined with their natural fondness for the bush, induces them to prefer that mode of subsistence which, whilst it is infinitely more agreeable and less laborious, procures for them nearly as great a reward as living with white people.

3. Their not being taught that different values are attached to different degrees of labour, as well as to the skill and neatness with which it is performed.

21. These impediments might all either be removed or modified in some districts by the establishment of native institutions and schools, but in forming a general plan for their removal which would be equally applicable to all parts of a colony, a very novel difficulty presents itself.

22. Imagining that a native child is perfectly capable of being civilised, let it also be granted that, from proper preventive measures having been adopted, this child has nothing to fear from the vengeance of the other natives, so that it stands in these respects nearly or altogether in the position of a European.

23. If this native child is a boy who is to pay the individual who undertakes to teach him some calling the fee usually given with an apprentice; who will indemnify this person for the time he spends in instructing the boy before he can derive any benefit from his labour, or for the risk he incurs of the boy's services being bestowed elsewhere as soon as they are worth having?

24. Until this difficulty is got over it appears evident that the natives will only be employed in herding cattle, or in the lowest order of manual labour which requires no skill, and for which the reward they receive will be so small as scarcely to offer an inducement to them to quit their present wandering mode of life.

25. The remedy I would suggest for this evil would have another advantage besides a tendency to ameliorate it, for it would give the settlers a great and direct interest in the aborigines without entailing any expense upon the Government. It is founded on the following fact:

26. The Government, in order to create a supply of labour in the colonies, have been in the habit of giving certain rewards to those individuals who introduced labourers into them. Now it would appear that he who reclaims one of the aborigines not only adds another labourer to those who are already in the colony, but further confers such a benefit on his fellow-settlers by rendering one who was before a useless and dangerous being a serviceable member of the community, that this circumstance alone entitles him to a reward.

27. I would therefore propose that, on the production of the hereafter-named documents, a settler should receive a certificate entitling him to a certain sum, which should either be allowed to reckon towards the completion of location duties, or else as a remission certificate in the purchase of land, or, in lieu of this, a grant of land; and that this sum or grant should be regulated according to a table specifying the various circumstances that are likely to occur, and drawn up by the local government of each place where such regulation should be introduced.

28. The documents to which I allude are these:

1. A deposition before the nearest magistrate to such settler's house that a native or natives have been resident with him constantly for the last six months, and have been employed in stated species of labour.

2. A certificate from the government resident of the district that, to the best of his belief, such statement is true, for that, on his visiting this settler's house, the stated number of natives were there, and were respectively occupied in the kinds of labour described.

3. A certificate from the protector of aborigines that he has visited this settler's house; that the stated number of natives were resident there, and appeared to be progressing in the knowledge of that branch of industry in which they were respectively stated to be employed.

29. It would be further necessary that any settler who intended to endeavour to reclaim natives should give a short notice to the protector of aborigines previously to the commencement of the first six months.

30. Could this plan be brought into operation the work of the civilization of the aborigines would at once be commenced upon a great scale; it would not be confined to a single institution, but a variety of individuals, endowed with different talents and capacities for this work, would at once be employed on it: it is indeed rather suited and intended for the outskirts of civilization, thinly populated by settlers, than for towns, yet it is applicable to both situations; whilst its direct operation would be to induce the settler adequately to remunerate the native for, as well as to provide him with, a constant supply of labour, and to use every exertion by kind and proper treatment to attach him for as long a period as possible to his establishment.

31. In considering the kinds of labour in which it would be most advisable to engage natives it should be borne in mind that, in remote districts where the European population is small, it would be imprudent to induce many natives to congregate at any one point, and the kinds of labour in which they should be there engaged ought to be of such a nature as to have a tendency to scatter them over the country, and to distribute them amongst the separate establishments.

32. Whilst in the well-peopled districts, where a force sufficient both to protect and control the aborigines exists, they should be induced to assemble in great numbers, for they work much more readily when employed in masses, and, by thus assembling them on one point, their numbers are diminished in those portions of the colony which have a small European population, and they are concentrated at a spot where proper means for their improvement can be provided.

33. The first of these principles has been strictly attended to in the plan proposed in the 27th and following paragraphs of this report; the second has been carried into successful operation in Western Australia.

34. In order that the work on which the natives are employed in the vicinity of towns should be of the most advantageous nature it is necessary that it should be productive of benefit both to themselves and the Government which employs them, so that it cannot be complained of as a useless expense, whilst at the same time it should be of such a kind as to accord with that love of excitement and change which is so peculiar to this people.

35. Both of these ends would be attained by employing the aborigines either in opening new roads or in repairing old lines of communication; indeed this mode of employment is singularly suited to the habits of this people; they might be kept constantly moving from post to post, thus varying the scene of their operations; one portion of the party might be employed in hunting with kangaroo-dogs, or fishing, in order to supply the others with fresh meat; and the species of labour in which the main body were engaged might, if they wished it, be changed once or twice in the course of the day to prevent their being wearied by the monotonous character of their employment.

CONCLUSION.

36. Among other enactments which I believe would have a tendency to promote the civilization of the aborigines, and which are applicable to those districts in which for some time a great intercourse has existed between the natives and Europeans, are the following:

37. That any native who could produce a certificate (from the protector of aborigines) of having been constantly employed at the house of any settler or settlers, for a period of not less than three years, should be entitled to a grant of land, the extent of which should be fixed by the local government of the colony to which such native should belong, and that, if possible, this grant should be given in that district to which this native by birth belonged.

That, in addition to this grant, he should receive a sum of money, the amount of which should also be fixed by the local government, and which should be drawn from the fund raised by the sale of Government lands, and which sum should be expended in goats, poultry, etc., so as to enable the native in some manner to stock his land.

That any native, having only one wife, who produced a certificate of the civil marriage contract having been performed between himself and her, by the resident of the district to which he belonged, should be entitled to a small reward.

That any natives who registered duly the birth of any of their children should be entitled to a small reward.

That some competent person should be paid to instruct two native boys in such a manner as to qualify them to act as interpreters in courts of law, and that as soon as they are found competent they should be employed for this purpose.

I believe that many other regulations, similar to these, would be found to produce a very beneficial effect.