The History of Tasmania Volume I Part 18

Lord Glenelg confessed that the scheme of concentration was not of universal application: that Lord Ripon's regulations were not everywhere desirable, and that it was proper to tolerate the ardour of private enterprise; to moderate its course, and gather up its fruits. The Dutegaller a.s.sociation was dissolved; but not until they had given an impulse to colonisation, more rapid than any example offered by history.

This peaceable occupation, contrasted with the cruelties inflicted at Twofold Bay--a whaling station, now rising into a province.

While these plans of colonisation were in progress, the social condition of the penal colonies was constantly discussed. To correct the evils admitted on the spot, and to obviate the dangers apprehended at home, it was determined by the ministers to promote the emigration of mechanics and females. One series of plans were proposed for New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, and with the same general results. The policy of government required the emigration of free mechanics.

The employment of prisoner artizans by the local government, was disapproved by the crown, and Colonel Arthur was instructed to a.s.sign them to masters, and contract for public works. In defending this measure, he had maintained that the high rate of wages would subvert the design of transportation: the employer would indulge the workmen, and to obtain their full strength supply the means of sensual gratification.

In 1831, a notice appeared inviting the opinions of the colonists on the subject of emigration. Lord G.o.derich solicited the a.s.sistance of the settlers in removing the population which the colonies might employ, and England spare. They were requested to state what amount of money they would engage to afford, and what cla.s.s of servants they required. Such as contributed to the cost were promised a preferable claim to engage them. The notice was received in silence: no public meeting was held.

The servants of the Van Diemen's Land Company had generally deserted their employers; and in the colonies, the valuation of pauper laborers, compared with convicts, was not great; and although some extended their views beyond the moment, the chief object of most persons was to secure a fortune and be gone. The settlers dreaded the vicinity of small farmers, as fatal to the discipline of their men, and to the safety of their flocks.[181]

This notice was on its way, when Lord Howick, on the behalf of the colonial-office, addressed the lords of the treasury, and proposed a loan of 10,000, to be repayed by the land fund. The proceeds of sales were then a matter of conjecture; but it was the opinion of the secretary of state, that these resources should be devoted to emigration, especially of females. He calculated that a growing population would more than compensate for the cost, by extending the basis of colonial revenue (1831). In this view their lordships concurred, and a commission was instantly appointed, to carry out the design.

During this emigration the supply of labor exceeded the demand, and a benevolent society was formed to succour the numerous poor. The governor advised that no laborers, except mechanics, should be sent, and four members of the legislative council protested against the outlay. They stated that the support of 10,000 prisoners, without expense to England, was a sufficient benefit for a colony to confer; that the "poor house prisoners," and the "gaol prisoners," were equally demoralised; and the first more insolent and uncontrollable. They contended that the expenditure of the land fund out of the colony was to complete the mischief resulting from the cessation of grants, "the calamities of which it was fearful to antic.i.p.ate."[182]

The colony was thought likely to afford a desirable home for Chelsea pensioners, who commuted their pensions for four years' payment.

Forty-six embarked in the _Science_, with Messrs. Backhouse and Walker, whose reports of their conduct explain their subsequent misfortunes.

They were intemperate and thriftless, and pa.s.sed the voyage in disorder.

The women were nothing superior to their husbands.[183] On their arrival, they expended their money, and sunk into misery. To this there were some exceptions, and here and there an old soldier may be found, whose property has risen in value, to a competence for his declining life. The land they were enabled to acquire was, however, generally too small in quant.i.ty to yield a living, from their unskilled and irregular toil. Their distress excited more discussion than sympathy. They requested the sheriff to call a meeting, to inform the crown of "their unspeakable sufferings."

The home government resolved to advance 20 to married mechanics willing to emigrate to this colony. They gave the parties the amount, who were expected to sign a warrant of attorney for its repayment within two years. Many emigrated, but few paid: a Mr. John Hose, who did so, was noticed for his singular honesty; but the greater part evaded the liability with success. Females were expected to repay 8 towards their pa.s.sage; but many were minors, and the proof of their hand-writing was not easy, and few regarded the obligation as just. The demand of this pledge contracted the choice of emigrants: many country girls refused to sign their names to a paper, promising a sum equal to the English wages of a year; or to enter into engagements, of which they could not see the end. The ordinary revenue was charged with payment and collection arising from this scheme; but the land fund eventually defrayed the loss.

A succession of vessels, with mechanics and females, anch.o.r.ed at Hobart Town: the _Amelia Thompson_ at Launceston. A committee of ladies in London, of whom Mrs. Fry was the most distinguished, undertook the selection of the females. They were commended for their philanthropy and care in England: in the colonies, they received but little praise. Mr.

Marshall, a considerable shipowner, was appointed agent. To fill his vessels, was said to be the main object of his efforts, and that he held a low scale of female morality would not be unacceptable. The statements of the colonial press were often undiscriminating and highly unjust: many valuable women were included in these immigrations; many were girls of tender years, whose chief fault was their ignorance.

The debarkation of these females occasioned scenes, more subjects of regret than of wonder. Thus, on the arrival of the _Strathfieldsay_ (1834), the fair emigrants, 286, most of good character, were indiscreetly landed at high noon: 2,000 persons awaited them on the beach. Their feelings were outraged with ribaldry and insult: they were astounded at their reception, and many wept. The ladies of the colony protected and advanced them; and some, whose want drove them from their native country, remember the day with grat.i.tude when they first pressed the soil of Tasmania. 1,280 females were brought to the colony in three years, ending 1835; and rather more to New South Wales.

The emigrant rarely appears to advantage: the occupation of a new sphere, in which his position is uncertain, renders his manners awkward, and his expectations ridiculous. The disorderly conduct of many made their presence a burden, and their civil condition no great advantage to their masters. Yet, since it was necessary to labor or to starve, the greater portion chose the better alternative; and the women of decent habits, found that destiny for which nature designed them.

The extravagant expectations formed by many emigrants, fostered by reports of individual success, which when substantially true are still exaggerated by fancy, were commonly disappointed. The suspicious coolness of strangers; the high price of provisions; the comfortless dwellings, with their awkward fuel; the absence of conveniences, which are not valued until lost; and the memory of home, produced a depression of spirits, only overcome by reason or youth. But their complaints of after years, are the result of affectation and habit: they pretend to have sacrificed a lot, from which in reality they escaped; and forget that in the midst of those scenes they profess to regret, they often wanted a meal.

A curious instance occurred at an early time: a settler took a location order and provisions, and went out to commence his labors. He was disheartened by the obstruction of the forest: at his first stroke, the axe was shivered; he threw it down in despair, and returned home in the vessel that brought him out.

The emigrants were not, on the whole, inferior to other persons of their education and calling; and were often justified in resisting the tyrannical spirit and disposition to oppress, which the habits of colonial life do not extinguish. This emigration, amounting to 7,000 for both colonies, is an epoch to be remembered for its influence on their fate.

These events revolutionised the social state of the colonies. Free workmen and their families formed an intermediate cla.s.s, whose interests were hostile to a penal government, and to bond labor in every form. The individual importance of employers consoled them for their political dependence; and the subservience of transportation to their material prosperity, reconciled them to the restrictions it imposed. The free workman found it an obstacle to his advancement: it depressed his wages and debased his position, but gave him nothing. If his industry raised him, he yet retained the sympathies of his early life: he remained distrustful of the rich, jealous of rank, and fond of the equality of human rights. Trial by jury, legislative a.s.semblies, and official responsibility, found earnest advocates, where they had often been mere rallying points of personal discontent.

All this was foreseen by Arthur: when free laborers were intruded by the crown, the great bond of his system was broken.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISPOSAL OF CROWN LANDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES AND VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.

---------------+-------+--------------------+---------------+------------------ Authority. | Date. | Terms. | Superseded. | Remarks.

---------------+-------+--------------------+---------------+------------------ King's sign |1787 |Residence on the |1810. |100 acres only to manual to |and | grant. | | any person, over governors of |1789. |Cultivation and | | the quant.i.ty New South | | improvement. | | allowed to Wales. | |Reservation of naval| | emancipists.

| | timber. | | | |Quit rent: | | | | emancipists. 6d. | | | | per 30 acres; free | | | | settlers, 2s. per | | | | 100 acres, after | | | | ten years. | | | | | | Governor |January|Quit-rent, 2s. per |November 30, |Town allotments Macquarie. |1, 1810| 100 acres. | 1821. | usually leased at | |Cultivation of a | | Hobart Town for | | proportion (20th | | twenty-one years, | | part) in five years| | quit rent 30s.

| |Reservation of naval| | per acre; 7 only | | timber. | | were granted, | |Right of forming | | 1820. Allotments | | highways. | | were occupied at | |Non-alienation in | | Launceston on | | five years. | | permission of the | | | | commandant.-- | | | | _Bigge's Report._ | | | | Governor |July |Omits cultivation |Colonial | Brisbane. |11, | clause, and saddles| Office, | |1822. | every 100 acres | November, 1824| | | with a convict |Notified in Van| | | servant. This was | Diemen's Land,| | | cancelled by | 18th May, 1825| | | indors.e.m.e.nt on some| | | | grants, on | | | | condition of | | | | cultivation. | | | | | | |1823. |Grants liable to | | | | quit-rent of 15s. | | | | per 100 acres. | | | | | | Colonial Office|1824. |Convict clause |Convict clause |Town lots granted | | inserted. Purchase | withdrawn, in | on specified | | money repaid, if | 3rd edit. of | expenditure | | claimed within ten | notice, 1827. | within three | | years, or for the | | years, and | | redemption of quit | | non-alienation | | rent. | | for 18 months.

| |Quit rent 5 per | | | | cent. value. | | | | | | |April, |Settlers who could | | |1826. | obtain no convicts,| | | | allowed abatement | | | | of half quit-rent; | | | | or a new purchase | | | | at half price, who | | | | should expend five | | | | times value of the | | | | grants, given or | | | | sold them. | | | | | | Governor Arthur|1828. |Land Board |January 20, | | | established; | 1831. | | | capital required, | | | | 500 for each | | | | square mile granted| | | |Land sold at highest| | | | tender; one-half | | | | left on mortgage | | | | for twelve years, | | | | at 5 per cent. | | | |Precious metals | | | | reserved. | | | | | | Colonial Office|January|Order: all land to |August, 1838. | |20, | be sold by public | | |1831. | sale; upset price | | | | 5s., conveyed in | | | | fee simple at a | | | | peppercorn rent. | | | |Precious metals | | | | reserved, and | | | | indigenous produce | | | | for public works. | | | | | | Colonial Office|August,|12s. per acre. |1842. | | 1838. | | | | | | | |1842. |1 per acre. |1845.[184] | ---------------+-------+--------------------+---------------+-----------

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 177: _Report on the Disposal of Crown Land_, 1836.]

[Footnote 178: _England and America._]

[Footnote 179: The plan of selling crown lands, and appropriating the proceeds to emigration, was claimed as his own by Galt, the novelist and projector. See _Life of John Galt_, vol. ii. p. 135.]

[Footnote 180: _Edinburgh Review_, 1849.]

[Footnote 181: "We are much mistaken, if the letters addressed to the secretary exceed six, and they are written by the paid magistracy."--_Launceston Advertiser_, 1832.]

[Footnote 182: Protesters:--Charles Swanston, Charles M'Lachlan, Richard Willis, John Kerr. October, 1833.]

[Footnote 183: _Backhouse's Narrative._]

[Footnote 184: 1845.--The Act 5th & 6th Victoria, chap. 36, repealed; as to Van Diemen's Land only: which returned to the status of 1787.]

SECTION XIII.

The increasing population of the Australian colonies led to important changes in their monetary inst.i.tutions. Hitherto the stock employed in banking was supplied by the merchants, or invested by East Indian capitalists. These local relations were not without their advantages: they enabled the banks to extend accommodation beyond the ordinary usage of companies subject to more extensive and complicated interests.

The announcement of the "Leviathan," as the Bank of Australasia was called, created the usual amount of discussion. The capital was desired by those who had occasion to borrow, and dreaded by such as were interested in lending. It was incorporated in 1835; and commenced operations the following year. By granting bills on London at par, the manager first drew largely on the current coin. Treasury bills were no longer the cheapest remittance, and the disposition to purchase them declined. The outcry of the local banks reached the legislative council, and it was proposed to make a treasury bill a legal tender. An act pa.s.sed for the purpose, but was never called into force by proclamation.

The resources of the English enabled them to vex and contract the sphere of the colonial establishments; but had treasury bills become a legal tender, they could have redeemed their own notes by their payment, and thus recovered the coin which found its way into the coffers of the stranger.

At Launceston, the quarrel between the Australasia and a local bank, afforded much sport to those not deeply interested. Of the Tamar Bank, 20 per cent. only had been paid on its capital, which was exceedingly small compared with its discounts and issues. Every morning, the agent of the London took a wheel-barrow to the Tamar bank, attended by an armed guard, and carried away the dollars in exchange for notes. The superior strength of the Australasia soon brought the contest to a crisis, and Mr. Gilles, the manager of the Tamar, shut up his books. He, however, first gave warning, that such must be his course, unless it was agreed to restore the dollar bags to the state before the war. To this it was replied that, perhaps, the Tamar had exceeded the just limits of its capital, and an offer made to discount a bill for its accommodation.

In the end, time was given. The parties concerned were more frightened than hurt: no serious injury was intended.

In 1837, the Union Bank of Australia, with a capital of 1,000,000, divided the field. This inst.i.tution was formed in England, under the auspices of Mr. Philip Oakden, a merchant, of Launceston. With such spirit was the project accepted, that the amount was subscribed in one day.

The chief objection to these banks was their tendency to create a cla.s.s of absentees, whose revenue withdrawn from the colonies would add nothing to their welfare. To this it was replied, that the repayment was intended to be made from profits the colonies would divide with the London capitalist, which, except for his a.s.sistance, could not be obtained.

The last business address of Arthur to his council, expressed his antipathy to the London bank, and his hope that the monopoly attempted would not be successful. He a.s.serted that the proprietary, an absentee body, had no interest but their own to regard, while the local banks were colonial in every sense. These were his views of finance, and they were characteristic of the time.

SECTION XIV.

"The glorious 23rd of May!" Such was the day and month of 1831, separated by those who witnessed its achievements to everlasting renown.

The excitement of the campaign against the blacks (see vol. ii.) had absorbed political animosities, and brought all parties together; but by this time the popularity of the governor was spent. The struggle for parliamentary reform agitated Great Britain, and the colonists determined to attempt the recovery of their rights as Englishmen. So lively was the interest in the affairs of Europe, that the tri-color was mounted by more ardent politicians. The last wave of revolution, which had scattered thrones, rippled on these sh.o.r.es.

A meeting was called by the sheriff, and the princ.i.p.al speakers were the Gellibrands, Crombie, Cartwright, Abbott, F. Smith, Meredith, Lascelles, Gregson, Dunn, Jennings, Kemp, Hewitt, and Lowes: of these, none were so conspicuous as Mr. Thomas Horne (a relative of the great Horne Tooke), afterwards puisne judge, and who was described as the "honest barrister"

by the admiring press. "If crushing," said the learned civilian, "is to be brought into operation, no doubt I shall be crushed. Let them crush me, and they will a.s.sociate my name with the record of this meeting, which history will preserve to the latest period of time." The object of the movement was to bring under the royal notice the government of the colony, and to demand trial by jury, and a legislative a.s.sembly. The pet.i.tion to the king was entrusted to the custody of Mr. Sams, who was proceeding to Great Britain. Whether it ever reached the throne was a matter of dispute: some said it had been committed to the deep, with much solemnity; others, that it had pa.s.sed from the messenger to the hands of a merchant, who disregarded its fate. It obtained no reply.

The colony had just reason to complain at the time. The supreme court had been closed for many months: the business of the legislative council detained the judge and attorney-general from their proper functions, and for nearly two years no gaol delivery had occurred at Launceston. Two persons, father and son, charged with cattle-stealing, had been two years awaiting trial, when they were both acquitted. The evidence against them was of the slightest description; yet during their detention domestic calamities of all kinds had overtaken them.

The delay was still further extended by the issue of a new charter, and with the usual incaution of the secretary of state. This charter arrived 1831: it nominated Mr. Pedder chief justice, and Alexander Macduff Baxter, puisne judge. It made no provision for continuing process begun in the late court, and required colonial legislation to cure the defects of its details.