The History of Tasmania Volume I Part 11

The trials and disappointments of the colonist pioneer, will have been long since forgotten. The modern emigrant to Australia can know them only in part. He is carried to his destination by a public conveyance, at a cost determined by extensive compet.i.tion. He can have the mechanical labor he may need: he can buy the stock, descended from European flocks and herds, lower than in their native regions. The choice fruit trees, flowers, and plants, which mult.i.tudes have combined to collect, he can obtain often at a gift. The costly experiments of his predecessors have established the rules which preserve his crops from destruction, or his folds from disease. There is a market for his produce, and a bank for his money; and a school for his children.

A poet, of some celebrity, predicted the fortunes of Tasmania. The picture he drew, is no unpleasing prospect for posterity:--

"Now, on my soul the rising vision warms, But mingled in a thousand lovely forms!

Methinks I see Australian landscapes still, But softer beauty sits on every hill: I see bright meadows, decked in livelier green, The yellow corn-field, and the blossomed bean: A hundred flocks o'er smiling pastures roam, And hark! the music of the harvest home!

Methinks I hear the hammer's busy sound, The cheerful hum of human voices round; The laughter and the song that lightens toil, Sung in the language of my native isle!

The vision leads me on by many a stream; And spreading cities crowd upon my dream, Where turrets darkly frown, and lofty spires Point to the stars and sparkle in their fires!

Here Sydney gazes, from the mountain side, Narcissus-like upon the gla.s.sy tide!

O'er rising towns Notasian commerce reigns, And temples crowd Tasmania's lovely plains!

The prospect varies in an endless range; Villas and lawns go by, in ceaseless change: And wafted on the gale from many a dell, Methinks I hear the village Sabbath bell!

Faith upward mounts, upon devotion's wings, And, like the lark, at heaven's pure portal sings; From myriad tongues the song of praise is poured, And o'er them floats 'the spirit of the Lord!'"[140]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 137: Mr. Samuel Bate, after exercising the functions of judge at Port Phillip (1803), returned home, and received the appointment, many years after, of inspector of excise, at Port Jackson.]

[Footnote 138: _Par. Pap._ 1812.]

[Footnote 139: The following may be considered almost unparalleled in the history of modern colonies, and in this has never been repeated. The government of Sorell was rather patriarchal than despotic; and compared with the ma.s.s of newly arrived emigrants he was the old inhabitant. Many who had never seen official men, but at an awful distance, were charmed with the affability and kindness of the governor, and his recall seemed the withdrawal of a liberal patron:--

"AT A PUBLIC MEETING of the Landholders, Merchants, and Free Inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land, by public advertis.e.m.e.nt a.s.sembled, at the Court House, in Hobart Town, the 30th day of October, 1823, JOHN BEAMONT, Esq., Provost Marshal of Van Diemen's Land, in the chair;

"Resolved--(Moved by Edward Abbott, Esq. junior, seconded by James Gordon, Esq.)--That in the present state of this colony, that union of wisdom and experience, which his Honor Lieutenant Governor Sorell has on every occasion so strikingly exhibited, is most essential to our general and individual interests. It becomes therefore of the very utmost importance to us, that in any contemplated changes, as to this colony, Lieutenant Governor Sorell may not be removed from his present government; inasmuch as no successor, whom it may be the pleasure of his Majesty to appoint, can be possibly expected to bestow all that general and individual attention to our wants and wishes, and to be able, satisfactorily and advantageously, to encounter any difficulties which may occur, without a considerable lapse of time, and much probable encreased inconvenience; while from the steady, calm, decided, and experienced judgment of his Honor Lieutenant Governor Sorell, we have every reason to hope for the most prosperous continuation of his present successful administration.

"2nd. Resolved--(Moved by A. F. Kemp, Esq., seconded by F. Dawes, Esq.)--That a most dutiful Address be presented to his Majesty, grounded upon the preceding resolution; and that a committee of fifteen gentlemen be appointed to prepare the same, and to carry into effect the object of the present meeting, in such manner as shall appear most proper and expedient.

"3rd. Resolved--(Moved by T. G. Gregson, Esq., seconded by W. A.

Bethune, Esq.)--That the Address, when signed, be forwarded with the least possible delay to Edward Barnard, Esq., our colonial agent in London, requesting that gentleman to adopt the necessary measures for forthwith submitting it to his Majesty's most gracious consideration, and to use his utmost endeavours to obtain the object of the same.

"4th. Resolved--(Moved by R. L. Murray, Esq., seconded by J. Gordon, Esq.)--That a subscription be forthwith entered into, to defray the expenses which may arise from carrying into effect the present resolutions, and for the purpose of presenting to his Honor Lieutenant Governor Sorell a Piece of Plate, in token of our affectionate remembrance of the great obligations we owe him, and that such subscription be limited to the sum of two dollars, individually.

"5th. Resolved--(Moved by A. F. Kemp, Esq., seconded by J. Archer, Esq.)--That H. J. Emmett, Esq. and P. A. Mulgrave, Esq. be requested to undertake the offices of treasurers of the subscription, for the counties of Buckingham and Cornwall, respectively.

"6th. Resolved--(Moved by T. G. Gregson, Esq., seconded by T. Anstey, Esq.)--That a copy of these Resolutions, and of the Address to his Majesty, be transmitted to his Honor Lieutenant Governor Sorell, in such manner as by the Committee shall be considered most respectful to the Lieutenant Governor, and suitable to the occasion.

"7th. Resolved--(Moved by R. Espie, Esq., seconded by J. Gordon, Esq.)--That the following fifteen gentlemen do form the committee for the purposes before resolved:--

E. Abbott, Esq. jun.

T. Anstey, Esq.

J. Archer, Esq.

W. A. Bethune, Esq.

F. Dawes, Esq.

H. J. Emmett, Esq.

J. Gordon, Esq.

T. G. Gregson, Esq.

S. Hood, Esq.

A. W. H. Humphrey, Esq.

A. F. Kemp, Esq.

R. L. Murray, Esq.

H. Ross, Esq.

G. F. Read, Esq.

J. Scott, Esq.

"8th. Resolved--(Moved by J. Archer, Esq., seconded by T. Anstey, Esq.)--That these Resolutions, and a copy of the Address to his Majesty, be inserted three times in the _Hobart Town_ and _Sydney Gazettes_; and in the _Times_, _New Times_, _Morning Chronicle_, and _Courier_, London newspapers.

"JOHN BEAMONT, _Provost Marshal, Chairman_.

"The Provost Marshal having quitted the chair, and James Gordon, Esq.

having been requested to take the same;

"Resolved--(Moved by E. Abbott, Esq., junior, seconded by R. L. Murray, Esq.)--That the thanks of this meeting be given to John Beamont, Esq., our worthy Provost Marshal, for the readiness with which he has convened the present meeting, and for his able, upright, and impartial conduct in the chair.

"JAMES GORDON, _Chairman_."]

[Footnote 140: _Australia; with other Poems._ By T. K. Hervey, London, 1824.]

HISTORY OF TASMANIA.

FROM 1824 TO 1836.

FROM 1824 TO 1836.

SECTION I.

George Arthur, Esq., fourth Lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen's Land, arrived in the _Adrian_, on the 12th May, 1824. Formerly superintendent of Honduras, he was extensively known as an officer of inflexible and energetic disposition: his administration had occasioned considerable debate, and was the subject of parliamentary and judicial enquiries.

Honduras, an establishment on the American coast, was occupied by adventurers from Jamaica. At first interlopers, their presence was for a time unnoticed by the Spanish crown. A hundred years were pa.s.sed in unavailing protests and opposition, when the court of Spain reluctantly recognised the location of the cutters of logwood within its undoubted territory.

In 1814, Arthur was appointed superintendent by the Duke of Manchester; at the same time he received from General Fuller the government of the troops in the following words: "I do hereby const.i.tute and appoint you, the said George Arthur, to command such of his Majesty's subjects as are now armed, or may hereafter arm for the defence of the settlers at the Bay of Honduras; you are, therefore, as commandant, to take upon you the care and charge accordingly." In virtue of these appointments he claimed both the military and civil command, until he quitted the settlement in 1822.

In 1820, Bradley, an officer stationed at Honduras, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel on full pay, and knowing that the regiment of which Arthur was colonel (the York Cha.s.seurs) was disbanded, he considered himself ent.i.tled to the military command, by the seniority of rank, according to the rules of military service: he refused to acknowledge longer the authority of Arthur, or to attend a council of officers to which he was summoned. Arthur instantly caused Bradley to be arrested, and his sword taken from him; and he was detained a prisoner for seventy-three days.

An account of this transaction was transmitted to Jamaica, when General Fuller, the superior officer, ordered the colonel's liberation; but forwarded to the authorities in Great Britain a statement of the dispute. The conduct of Colonel Bradley was deemed inconsistent with military subordination: he was dismissed from the service without trial; he was, however, allowed to dispose of his commission.

Colonel Bradley inst.i.tuted an action against Arthur for false imprisonment: his counsel was the present Lord Brougham: Arthur was defended by the law officers of the crown. There were two questions to decide: whether the arrest was legal, and then whether unnecessary hardship had been endured by the plaintiff. The jury, considering that Bradley's detention was unnecessarily prolonged, gave him damages to the amount of 100. The appointment of Arthur to the government of this country withdrew him from the effect of a legal process, and when Bradley appealed against what he deemed the injustice of his evasion, he was told that he could await his recall. Colonel Bradley next published a statement, that General Fuller had antedated Arthur's commission as commandant, thus to justify the measures he had taken: a charge amounting to forgery. A criminal information was filed against Bradley: he was found guilty, but was not brought up for judgment.

It was decided by the judges that Bradley was mistaken, and that Arthur's t.i.tle to command was regular and valid. Bradley, however, continued to maintain that he was the victim of a deep conspiracy, by which Arthur was rescued from the consequences of usurpation. It is certain that Bradley was ruined.

The judges, in p.r.o.nouncing a decision on Bradley's appeal against the verdict of justification which Arthur obtained, in reference to the arrest, set aside the rules and regulations of the service. Their judgment was built merely upon the absolute discretion of the crown in the distribution of military command: they inferred that the approval of Arthur's proceedings and the dismissal of Bradley, were sufficient evidence of the royal will.[141]