Australia Progress Condition

AUSTRALIA ITS RISE, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT CONDITION BY WILLIAM WESTGARTH, ESQ. WITH MAP EDINBURGH ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK MDCCCLXI PRINTED BY NEILL AND CO., EDINBURGH. PREFACE. THE present volume consists chiefly of the articles Australasia and Australia of the " Encyclopaedia Britannica." These articles have been revised or rewritten, so as to bring down to the present time the information upon this eventful part of our empire. This circumstance explains the particular form in which the subject is cast. Although not the usual mode of treating a historical subject, it is yet a mode perhaps almost a necessity in describing colonies, whose fast young life, if one may so speak, quickly obliterates the past in the tumult and progress of the present, and confines the interest almost to the particulars of the last year, if not even of the last mail. This more recent information is here given by way of an intro- duction, in a collective view of the whole subject. To make room for this introductory sketch, the former articles upon each separate colony have been con- siderably curtailed, so as to dispense with what has already, even in their brief span of history, ceased to be of general interest. These articles have been revised and continued with the more recent statistics Vi. PREFACE. and other information pertaining to each. In particular, the article on Victoria, the colony that has become most prominent by its development, both political and commercial, which article was lately entirely rewritten by the present author, has been again revised, and partly rewritten ; while that on South Australia has been amended by a gentleman lately a distinguished resident of that colony. The Supplement is a paper which the author prepared for the late meeting at Manchester of the British Asso- ciation, but at which he was unable to be present. But events at the antipodes have a rapid succession. This is remarkably the case since the inauguration of self-government. The new system has everywhere stimulated the colonists, who are alternately enveloped in the dust of ceaseless material progress, and im- mersed in the prominent public questions of the hour, in which every class and individual feels an untiring interest. Thus, while the book has been passing the printers, there is almost a fresh history to tell, and we must expand our Preface in order to tell it. The picture is highly diversified, and a bright sun and genial atmosphere, that pertain to most of its ample area, are simultaneously enjoyed by widely opposite conditions of humanity. We were dismissed from a very edifying scene of religious, moral, and industrial attainment in the New Hebrides Islands (pp. 19-21), but only to reopen the drama in gloom and despair. Erromanga is once more infamous. The Christian missionaries, Mr and Mrs Gordon, were barbarously murdered there in May last. The old PREFACE. Vil suspicion of the natives, that the infectious diseases that appeared amongst them had been purposely introduced by the white people, had once more in- furiated their minds, and apparently been the cause of this sad event. They were particularly aroused at the time, as the small-pox, introduced from Sydney by way of New Caledonia, had made frightful havoc amongst them. From one barbarous scene we pass to another im- measurably less excusable. It is this time the civilised who are assaulting those they account savages. The riots at Lambing Flat, a gold-field near Yass in the southern part of New South Wales, where the colonists combined to expel the Chinese, have been of a most shocking and disgraceful character. The government dispatched 200 military with some pieces of artillery to the scene. The miners had formed a league for self-protection, and petitioned the authorities for the expulsion of the Chinese, " protection to native in- dustry," and " the promulgation of the word of God" ! Quiet was soon after restored, and the poor Chinese ventured to return to their labours. Several months after, however, namely, on Sunday, 30th June last, another and more dreadful outbreak took place. A large body attacked the Chinese, and drove them off with the greatest violence and brutality, assaulting them with arms, cutting off or tearing away their tails, and burning and destroying their tents and pro- perty. After an ineffectual resistance by the police, the military again occupied the ground. A number of the rioters were arrested and brought to trial, but vill PREFACE. were acquitted by the juries upon imperfect evidence. " The Chinese question" is once more being strongly debated in the legislature of the colony, with the pro- bable result, as before, that the democratic Assembly, sympathising with the popular antipathies to a large admixture of the Chinese, will pass measures to re- strict or prevent their immigration, which measures the Council or upper house will refuse to pass (p. 34). In New Zealand, while the north has been discon- certed by the spreading disaffection of the native races, the south has been alive with energy and tumult by the discovery of a rich gold-field. Regarding the Native difficulty, the colonial legislature had expressed its loyalty to the Queen, and the desire to put down any native-king movement among the aborigines. A new ministry, composed of Mr Fox and others, who had opposed the war, and who were inclined to some extent to justify the natives, had come into office. They had declared their policy, which, however, would be firm in opposing the natives if they persisted in a hostile attitude. The approaches towards a peace made in March had not proved either permanent or general on the natives' part. But they had ceased offensive operations, as they were awaiting, with some degree of confidence, the arrival of their former and popular governor, Sir George Grey. They still, however, cherished the king movement, and the mainte- nance of a distinct nationality, and they kept up a kind of state around the young king they had selected. Meanwhile, General Cameron, with 7000 military, was engagedaaed in clearing roads throug0h the dense bush, PREFACE. ix the safe and favourite retreat of his opponents, but a process which these latter regarded with the greatest dislike (pp. 24-32). Mr Macdougall Stuart, who may well be called the great Australian traveller, and who with a rapidity and facility hitherto unknown seems to perambulate this great territory, had returned to Adelaide in Sep- tember (pp. 8-12), himself and party in excellent health, and with the loss of but four out of fifty horses. He had not, however, even this time, quite traversed the country from sea to sea, although he had reached a point within only ninety miles of the shores of Carpentaria. His farthest north had been 17° S. Lat., and 133° E. Long., whence he had endea- voured to reach the Canafield, a branch of the Victoria River explored by Gregory. A dense forest, however, had baffled his repeated efforts, and he was compelled to return when his stock of provisions threatened to run short. Traversing a vast area of country, he had passed many arid tracts, but they were diversified with much fine land, some of which called forth a glowing description. An auriferous region, too, was reported to have been met with. The non-completion, by so small a proportion, of the great feat of crossing the Australian continent was a disappointment to the colony; and the government, with laudable ambition, intended, it was said, to convey their intrepid traveller by sea to the other side, whence he might with fewer impediments surmount the remainder of his late journey. The expedition from the colony of Victoria bent X PREFACE. on the same object as Mr Stuart, and which, with its camels, &c., we described as so completely fitted out for the journey, came off indeed more unfortunately than in being merely outstripped by its active rival. The route selected involved a journey of some hundreds of miles through an inhospitable country between Victoria and Cooper's Creek ere the business of discovery began, and the party was already disabled and broken up before its proper work had been entered on. One portion, however, pushed forward, and has not since returned. Victoria, South Australia, and Queens- land have each despatched expeditions in aid of the missing travellers. In September word was received in Adelaide from a native, to the effect that two white men, probably of this party, had reached the River Barcoo, accompanied by two camels. They were in a naked and very destitute condition, and were sub- sisting on fish caught by nets made of grass. Some natives who surrounded them were, however, re- strained by fear of their strange-looking quadrupeds. The response to the Imperial invitation for a simul- taneous census has been very generally responded to, and the populations for 7th April of this year have been taken respectively in New South Wales, Queens- land, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. In the case of South Australia, this expensive process had been gone through only the previous year. The united populations of the entire group for that date is probably 1,240,000, exclusive of the aborigines, who may amount, including all Australia, to 250,000 more. PREFACE. Xi Another Imperial invitation, namely, that regarding the Great Exhibition of 1862, will also be worthily responded to. All these colonies will be exhibitors, their respective legislatures having freely voted the requisite funds. There seemed everywhere elaborate preparation, and the variety of the products will probably excite surprise at the attainments of these young communities.

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