Monitor (Sydney, NSW : 1826 - 1828), Friday 30 June 1826, page 3


THE MONITOR. FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1826. NOTHING has hindered the prosperity of New South Wales so much as the contemptible, impolitic, and really profligate economy which was introduced into this colony after the departure of Governor Macquarie. The zeal with which this paltry attempt at saving—this ridiculous, ill-timed, unnecessary, and fruitless parsi-mony was carried on by Major Goulburn, always gave us a very poor opinion of that gentleman's talents in political economy, however much we were compelled to admit, that his uncomprising mode of carrying Mr. Hume's and Mr. Bigge's niggardliness into execution in demonstrated his personal integrity. The late honest colonial secretary was always so enamoured of a sheet-full of Cocker, arranged under heads and lines, rectili-neal, transverse, diagonal, perpendicular, and horizontal, that he gloried much more in paper-plans which dis-played the perfection of arithmetic and typical arrange-ment, adorned with results and totals aggregate and subsidiary, than in those liberal and elementary princi-ples, which alone can direct the labours of an active industrious people, and be made to consist with a true economy. BUT upon what principles of just policy can it be shewn, that a reduction m the Commissary's drafts on the Treasury is any real saving to the united kingdom? Calculations have been made over and over again, parti-cularly in a late elaborate pamphlet laid before the Secretary of State for the home department, (by Mr. Eagar,) that the convicts in the employ of the Sydney government, are maintained at infinitely less expense (the cost of their transportation included) than the same description of men are in the penitentiaries and hulks of England. And common sense discovers, that even if the expense were only equal, still an old over-populated country, whose labouring classes have exceeded the quantum of employment to the amount of ten millions a-year, gains an immense advantage by the transporta-tion of a portion of the worst description of that excess. TRANSPORTATION converts roguish manufacturers into wealthy consumers, i.e. customers. And this is a bene-fit independent of that other still greater benefit, namely the purification of society by the removal of that inflam-matory portion, whose presence is so great an encum-brance to an old community, and so great a profit to a new one.

We are aware, however, that an answer to all this, may be given by showing, it does not follow that because England has hitherto gained all these advantages by expending 150,000ℓ. a year, she should not gain the same in future by spending only 100,000ℓ. This is the argument which the inconsiderate Mr. Hume, and the superficial Mr. Bigge have latterly had resort to. For they did at length confess, that the expenses of founding New South Wales, had been less than those of founding and supporting the English hulks and penetentiaries. Mr. Bigge never found this out in New South Wales—but at length he discovered that the colony had been, and was a most profitable concern to England ; and that in the comparative account between Great Britain and Sydney on the one hand, and, Great Britain and the Mil-bank Penitentiary and the Hulks on the other, the balance was immensely in favour of New South Wales. The reason of this is so obvious, that it is incredible how Mr. Bigge, who got 10,000ℓ. on purpose to inquire into such things, never found it out till after his book of tittle-tattle was published. Yet it is very plain that convicts, in the employ of settlers and shop-keepers, cost government nothing. And the men in the employ of the Sydney government cost them nothing, because the products of their labour are worth more to the mother country in the creation of a new colony of cus-tomers for her excessive manufactures, than their trans-portation, food, and raiment, all added together. All this is plain. It must strike every colonist at once, as being as simple as it is true. The convicts in the Pene-tentiaries and Hulks of Great Britain are a dead expense — the products of their labour are a loss and an evil—for every pair of shoes or day's digging done by the inmates of those prisons, thrusts a free shoe-maker or labourer out of employment, and throws them on the poor-rates ; in a state of society where shoes and labour already exceed the demand for them. It follows, therefore, that every thousand pounds spent by the English treasury in New South Wales, in promot-ing the cultivation of land, or in fishing in the sea, by finding employment for her excessive population, free as well as bond (for the free population is supported by poor-rates to an amount which, staggers computation) eases the mother country of a pressing evil, and tends to reduce the poor-rates, and consequently the amount of crime. The limits of a News-paper preclude such com-plicated calculations, otherwise we would undertake to shew, that every thousand pounds spent by England in promoting emigration and transportation to New South Wales, is more than two thousand saved to her in poor-rates. Consequently, that Major Goulburn's late savings in New South Wales, of 50,000ℓ. or so, has prevented the poor-rates in England from reducing so fast as they would have done by a hundred thousand. But this is looking at the subject through a key-hole. Were the Kings ministers to encourage emigration and transport-ation to this country, on a large scale, by positive, stimuli, the poor-rates would have decreased in a ratio far be-yond any thing we can conceive. For it has been demon-strated by the Edinburgh Review, that when the price of labour has been reduced to a starving rate, (so that fif-teen hours work a-day could not furnish the stocking weaver of Nottingham with sufficient food of the mean-est quality (bread and gruel) to subsist upon, and neither bedding nor coals in winter) the removal of a small pro-portion of the weavers to another county (or colony) would instantly destroy the immense competition for employment ; and consequently, would have restored the price of wages to a living rate. But we must pursue our theory no farther here—we must hasten to what we had in view in writing on this subject. The present Governor, from the tenour of his acts, seems to be a person of natural candour, and of experience of the world. But unfortunately for the colony, and as we are afraid, for His Excellency's fame, he is come to the colony full of Mr. Hume and Mr. Bigge's economy. Now we would advise him to shake off all previous prejudices of this kind, and to look fairly and practically at things. Governor Mac-quarie was scolded by Lord Bathurst for his extrava-gance, for twelve years together, that is, all the while he was here ; but being an honest man, indefatigible in business; and a favourite with the people, like General Darling, he cared not for the consequences—he knew he could do nothing without money, and therefore he kept on drawing, and Bathurst kept scolding. Notwithstand-ing this paradoxical policy, he might have been here to this day, if he had not insisted upon his resignation being acceptd, after having tendered it five successive years. Whence arose the immense works performed by Ma-quarie but by a liberal expenditure ? The late govern-ment did not even keep in repair, what Macquarie built and constructed ! And the present government, as ap-pears to us seems to enter upon the task of reform with Goulburn-like parsimony. And yet what did Macquarie do that was superfluous ? Are the roads he made too good and too numerous ? Go to Bathurst and Argyle and Hunter's River. The roads at these places now are what the roads to Hawkesbury and Liverpool were when Macquarie arrived amongst us, nearly impassable. The greatest enemy this Country ever had was Major Goulburn. He was an impartial man, particularly after the second year of his arrival, but his inflexible stinginess nearly ruined the Country and but for the influx of capital by the great number of Emigrants who fortu-nately began to arrive, the Country would have been perfectly bankrupt. But the cargoes from England, (the result of previous credit not as yet impaired,) and Immigration, gave the merchants and settlers time to

breathe—enabled them to borrow of London; (that is, retain funds which ought to have been remitted) while new channels of industry and speculation were opening ; and so, by mere good luck, the Colony righted itself, and the Major was not burnt in effigy, but finally departed with the cold acknowledgment, that though an oppressor he was an honest and impartial one. In the Major's time, blankets were sold at the Com-missariat by public auction, while the five hundred wretches at the penal settlements lay on the cold earth. Jackets and trowsers were sold, when remnants of worn-out blankets were girt about their waists to answer the end of the Highland petticoat—shoes were, sold when they were bare-foot—and, least the settlers should get a penny a pound, too much for their pork, the latter of inferior quality, was fetched from India, laid in cheap and afterwards served out to the same wretches in a damaged state, while the triangles were placed near the wheat mills, in order to be handy to tie up those, who, sans clothes, and sans food of proper quality and quantity, were unable or unwilling to grind to the amount of their task. WE mention these things to show, that if the present Governor expect to succeed in saving money for the British Government, he will be deceived : for we are sure he will not stoop to the same measures which dis-tinguished the last administration. Besides, if he were even so to stoop, the result would not be near so great. The late administration succeeded to towns in good repair, bridges ready built, and roads ready formed and as level as a bowling green. But all these things are now gone to ruin. The whole of the public buildings are tumbling down. The roads are worn out, being choked with dust in summer and up to your neck in winter. So that all the prisoners in Sydney are not sufficient even to repair the numerous works created by the immortal Macquarie. For Governor Darling therefore to attempt to save, is quite out of the question. It will be a most vain and fruitless effort. He must draw, and draw hard ; and in so doing, he will exalt the Colony, make every body happy and every thing prosperous, as well as be virtually though not perhaps ostensibly popular in Downing Street. The only drawback on his comfort in short will be, a regular series of scolding letters, and which he must answer by drawing twice as much the next year as he did the last We beg to call the attention of the Government to the manner in which the prisoners on the roads are em-ployed. A gang of men (perhaps twenty or thirty) is employed in widening and clearing an old road. Instead of the country being previously surveyed, so as to cast off all the ins and outs of a crooked lane perforated through the woods by stockmen and others on the first discovery of the country, so that the gang may be em-ployed, in cutting a road by the shortest route over the fewest hills, all is left to the overseer ; who of course, being no surveyor, proceeds along the old road, straight or crooked, and makes the new one quite as zig-zag and full of turnings and windings as the old, only a little more plausible perhaps to the eye. But a greater mis-management than this, is the circumstance of the gang proceeding en masse to widen an old lane, which perhaps is already hard, level, and wide, as to answer every useful purpose for twenty years to come. After spending a month or a quarter of a year at this good old road, they do come at length perhaps to a portion which really requires their labours ; and after a twelve month more, some ten per cent of the best of the road is made a great deal better than was at all required. In the mean time particular spots on the road, (for instance, Stonequarry Creek, Paddy's River, Lewis's Creek, &c. on the Argyle Road remain in a state of nature, sub-jecting the desolate carter every time he crosses them, to the casualty of breaking down, straining his cattle, and at all events to the great loss of time and labour ex-perienced in unloading—and in rainy weather, the unfor-fortunate driver meets with accidents the most disastrous. Now if government would just have the common-sense, as well as liberality to grant a commission to the magistrates of the distant districts of the colony, where such circumstances as above are daily occurring, by which they might be empowered to direct the overseers of the said gangs to draft off a party of six men from their twenty or thirty, to be victualled by the said magistrates, and to be under their sole orders, all the grievances above alluded to would be speedily and happily remedied. A week's work by six men at each of the dangerous places in the distant parts of the co-lony, would generally render them passable, and in lieu of having carts broken down, horses strained, limbs dis-located, goods damaged, and carter's hearts broken, besides wear and tear of harness, and beating and bruis-ing the poor horses and bullocks because they cannot pull the vehicle out of a swamp up to the naves of the wheels, the whole country would be in a most comfort-able state. In the mean time, the main gangs and roadsmen of course proceed steadily in their operations ; and as they proceed, spread joy and satisfaction through-out the interior. If the government doubt the correctness of this view of the subject, let them take the sense of the resident graziers in the parts we allude to—the magistrates we know are timid in finding fault, and modest in making suggestions—let them, therefore, ask the sturdy settler, and he will not be backward in giving full tongue to the grievances of which we have here merely stated an outline.

MENTIONING the roads and the New Country, reminds us of a circumstance which reflects the greatest disgrace on the government of Sir Thomas Brisbane. Messrs. Hume and Hovell undertook to explore the Southern country, from the farther boundary of Argyle, to Western Port. They received some paltry encourage-ment from the late administration in the loan of certain instruments which they could not buy : but in other respects they were rather looked down upon ; and at all events, were left to make all the necessary preparations at their own cost. Full, however, of that noble enter-prize, worthy of Mungo Park and other travellers, which nothing can subdue ; and calculating on the honest fame which is dearer to some men than money ; and reckoning, that though the beggarly government and the present ignoble race of colonists gave them sneers for plaudits, and prognosticated their disappointment and destruction, they might, after all, live in history, and be handed down to posterity as some of the benefactors of Australia, and that posterity at all events would do them justice—they boldly ventured into unknown re-gions; and after crossing the Australian Alps, whose summits are covered with eternal snows, they finally arrived at Bass's Straits. And we doubt not, from the decay of their provisions and their own strength, the travellers viewed the sea with feelings only less ecstatic than those which animated the ten thousand under Xeno-phon, when the same object presented itself to their view in their retreat from the heart of Persia. The Government of Sydney, if it had had one spark—only one spark of common liberality and feeling, would have despatched a small vessel, laden with a couple of fresh pack-horses, and a little fresh provisions, to meet them at Western Point. But no. The impenetrable Major Goulburn could not afford such prodigality. A country, whose income is seventy millions, could not afford the vast sum of a hundred pounds to cheer the hearts of two of its enterprising sons, animated by the pure enthu-siasm of scientific adventure. Let them take the con-sequences of their own temerity ! That was the base feeling of the Government. Neither the sacred interests of science, nor the common instincts of sympathy, which heroic enterprise and patriotic ardour usually enkindle in men, and sometimes even in Governments were, on the present occasion, enkindled at all. The noble pedestrians, therefore, unable either to make the necessary geological observations, or to recruit their strength by recreating themselves on the margin of the sea, hasted to return by, land to Argyle. The weather, through the interposition of a Providence which did not desert the patriots as their Government had done, was very dry. Had the usual quantity of rain fallen, in the dilapidated state of their resources, would they have ever favoured England and the colony with the results of their labours ? never ! their bones would now have been blanching in the wind !—and the wife and children of one of them might have been in the Asylum and the Orphan School, for any thing that the governments of Downing-street or Sydney cared to the contrary. As a proof of the cold, heart-rending reception they met with on their return, they were each presented with half the quantity of land which an emigrant, without a shilling in his pocket, or a grain of merit in his mind, is every day in the habit of receiving viz : one thousand acres of land ! ! ! This mighty remu-neration, on being sold, left them in debt on the expedi-ion. Such was the manner in which these two valuable and enterprising men were treated by a government which affected to represent the greatest, richest, and most scientific nation, in the world ! ! ! Mr. HUME has peculiar claims on the government of this colony. He is a native in the first place. And in the second, he has equal merit with all those who first discovered the interior of Argyle. He was with Mr. Meehan when' Lake Bathurst was discovered. He has always been devoting a portion of his time and substance. to making new discoveries ; and by the paltry govern-ments of this colony, he has always been made to endure those stings and throes, which a generous and elevated mind feels, when treated with neglect, ingratitude, and derision ! Aye, derision ! And we appeal to Mr. Hume, whether instead of being rewarded for his patriotic ex-ertions with acres, he has not often experienced jibes and tantalization ! Last week we had occasion to praise the Govern-ment orders. One which appears this week, we must condemn. The order is dated the 23d instant, and in the true military style of a general order, at one brush ' annihilates the occupation of some scores of industrious sawyers, and reduces the exports of the colony ten thou-sand a year ; for we understand that cedar, blue gum, and other timbers, have now obtained a solid footing in the London market, and that they amounted last year to this sum. WE know not whether the order adverted to, be the result of the deliberations of the Executive Council ; nor does it at all signify to the sufferers, from what source it proceeds. But this we know, that such kind of orders, ought never to be introduced to the public, with such military air. Before Government take away men's bread, there ought to be a deal of calm and humane consideration ; and when at length it comes to be finally determined upon, that the depriving one class of His Majesty's subjects of their present laudable employ-ment, and compelling them to seek a new avocation, is necessary for the good of all other of His Majesty's sub-jects as a collective body, even then we should, as a socie-ty of Englishmen, always expect that government

would, in a fair number of the usual condoling and per-suasive " Whereas's," demonstrate the general expe-diency of the new law, and show their backwardness to injure the meanest settler. We shall say no more at present on this subject, but conclude with calling the at-tention of the new chamber of Commerce to this order. We expect this said chamber however, will soon, (that is, if it do its duty in a manly and independent manner,) come into collision with the local government. The latter we augur will presently be displeased with their impertinence. And should this be the case, the result will show that nothing but a real chamber of commerce, namely, a legislative assembly, can answer the growing demands of this colony. The chamber about to be esta-blished, will of course, meet, debate, and recommend its measures to the government. What is this in effect but a house of assembly ? the only difference virtually will be, the chamber will be a spurious assembly, a college of quacks. The local government, if it happen to like it better than a legitimate chamber, will affect to treat the soi disants with great politeness, and so will always promise every thing " consistent with the interests of the crown and the instructions of His Majesty's Government." But then, the said " crown," and the said " Majesty's Government," will often happen to differ from the projects of the said bastard house of assembly. Therefore, after mutual humbugging, and keeping up the farce of politeness for a year or two, there will finally be a squabble, and things will then settle down to their present crude state, and the grand interests of our commerce, agriculture, and coast-trade, will continue to be interrupted, as they have been heretofore, by the ignorance of a military govern-ment, without adequate advice, and without adequate control. THE infamous letter, copied in the Australian from the Morning Chronicle, displays the advantage of a free press and a competition press in New South Wales ; and goes to account for that deep ignorance in which His Majes-ty's ministers were always involved by the misrepresentat-ions of demagogue residents and the London harpies their agents, up to the date of Mr. Bigge's report. Whether that report dissipated these mists of ignorance, we will not now inquire, because we are just going to press, and have scarcely time to make our comments on the letter just mentioned ; which is evidently the production of, that honest, simple-hearted, truth-telling, upright, ex-Judge, Baron Field, Esq. &c., &c. We believe, also, that the persons who furnished him with the facts (for they are facts) on which he has, with so much adroitness and left-handed wisdom built his hypotheses and drawn his inferences, intended all that he has accomplished for them. They are the same set of men who, though their lands were tilled and their houses built by the convicts, ever treated them with harshness and cru-elty—and because Macquarie, and after him Brisbane, spake comfortably to the people, invested them with and secured them in their properties and liberties, they turned their hostility to the local government itself, and never ceased their malignant representations till Macquarie's resignation (not having a free press to protect him) was accepted, and Brisbane was recalled. And now are they intriguing to pervert General Darling, and to set him against the people of the colony. But the General is too old for them. He has seen too much of the world. He heard something in Downing-street. He saw the Coun-ty-meetings, and colonial dinners, and public-addresses at the Derwent. He has received a manly, honest, and unflattering address from the people himself—he reads the colonial papers—he sees and judges for himself—and he will not be for the old faction—he will be for the peo-ple, in spite df their machinations.—But to the letter. " The seeds of republicanism are widely sown." Strange indeed, this, when just above it is said, " the most respect-able inhabitants have been denied by the Sheriff the humble privilege of stating their grievances to parliament." But we need not point out the inconsistency. " The few respectable individuals in the colony, who have the sagacity to see and feel how inseparably the interests of the colony and the mother country are connected, men who are the real friends of the government, are groaning under insult and oppression." These choice few are the friends of the ex-judge—the writers of the letter's, in fact, on which he founds his notable epistle. If the people be republicans, those choice few are of course the aristocrats, alias, the oligarchists, who groan—we admit it—but they groan because the prisoners whom they used to scourge at pleasure, are now beyond their reach—they groan be-cause they can themselves no longer " insult and oppress" THE PEOPLE. Next comes the joke of Mr. Field prais-ing Governor Macquarie whom he so much detested ! But now it answers his end. Next comes a hit—" a very palpable hit" at the Chief Justice, Attorney Ge-neral, Solicitor General, &c. &c.—and why? because they had the audacity to succeed to the turned-out judge to be sure ! a crime in Mr. Field's eye of the deepest dye. Next, the poor magistrates are libelled—they are either receivers of stolen goods, or they cowardly slink away from their duty. Then comes another left-handed hit at the Chief Justice and staff, under the gentlemanly terms of " craft of subtle lawyers, and machinations of unprincipled adventurers." We are pleased with his ex-honour's anger at two magistrates being, under the new act, required " to flog a convict," because it is so much character with the man. Mr. Marsden, we are sure, will not thank the judge for his eulogiums—he will, we think, be apt to cry out, " deliver me from my friends!" The " convict delegates,"—by which elegant designation he means as one of them, his old friend Mr. Eagar,

who used to worry him so much about the fees, that we have ourselves seen the judge turn pale as death on the judgment-seat. We remember well the trial Eager v. Henry, wherein the plaintiff was not allowed, as in another stance stated by us in our last number but one, to state his own case. He remembers too, that it was proved on oath that Mr. Eager supplied the King of Otaheite at a cheaper rate than ever he had been supplied before and we remember too, that in spite of the evidence, the judge gave a verdict against Mr. Eagar—and the ex-judge knows that verdict is still before the King in council, and will yet be set aside. We pity the poor Archdeacon to be hauled into such company. We trust, however, he will suffer much less than the ex-judge prognosticates. Finally—in denouncing our Commissary, he levels ano-ther facer at the Attorney General—we are quite sure he must have wished this situation for himself, or he would not be so inveterate against this officer. AND now let any impartial looker-on say, what he thinks of the man who, knowing better, nevertheless, to gratify private and public spleen, has made such villain-ous statements ? A CORRESPONDENT WRITES :— ON Friday last, Mr. Paul entertained a large party of friends at his new residence in George-street. There were we calculate, about sixty present. Music, and Singing, and Dancing, were the order of the night. Good humour and happiness were universally predominant, owing to the real welcome, unostentatious liberality, and old English cheer, with which the guests were treated. We much rejoice to see the respectable inhabitants of' Sydney, thus enjoying themselves ; we rejoice that the big wigs are not the only persons in New South Wales, who are able to discuss the merits of a well loaded table, and can trip it in the ball room on the light fantastic toe ; we rejoice that the impotent folks, yclept " The Ex-clusionists," are not the only persons who can live in the style and adopt the manners of gentlemen. Not that we would infer that the Exclusionists are definitively gentle-men—for our experience would induce us to be somewhat sceptical on this point. But let that pass—at least, for the present.—We shall some day or other define the meaning of the epithet gentleman,—and then see whether it be applicable to many who claim it as their own pecu-liar title— THE company did not break up at Mr. Pauls, 'till four o'Clock A. M. MR. WARD, Perruquiere a la Mode, entertained a select Party at his residence, on Monday Evening last, at a Ball and Supper, in celebration of his marriage on that day, to a good-looking widow with five children. The Party we understand broke up at a very late hour, expressing themselves quite in raptures at the Entertainment, and wishing the bride and bridegroom every possible happi-ness. Our, worthy Perruquiere was so delighted with the company of his guests, and so enamoured, avec sa Bride charmante, that he was determined not to open shop until late on the Afternoon of the subsequent day. We hear-tily wish every success to our gallant Knight of the Strop and his buxom bride. IRISH AFFECTION DISPLAYED. On Wednesday last, two men, prisoners of the crown, one named Brady and the other O'Keif, had a quarrel in Kent Street, respecting the unequal division of some iron stone which was pla-ced before each party to be broken, for the purpose of repairing the roads, when Brady exclaimed, Arrah Phil if it wasn't that we were brothers and sisters childer, I'd give you that, at the same moment accompanying his observation with a poltogue (that is a severe blow) under the left ear of his antagonist, which laid poor Phil sprawl-ing on the heap of stones that was his daily task to pul-verize. On recovering from his fallen state, he roared out in the true Tipperary cadence, Oh you bastard, is it my Cousin Garman that has served me this dirty trick, so now here's at you for the honour of the Sod. At it they went, hammer and tongs, and after a contest of three hugging rounds, Brady was conquered, from the effect of a severe fall, which brought the head of poor Pat in unison with the newly Mc'Adamized pathway. In gathering himself up, he put out his hand to his op-ponent to shake with him, as a token of friendship, inviting him to repair to the nearest public-house to take a drop of such as the house would afford, which after having done, they returned to their labour as good-tem-pered as previous to the contest. THE Police report in the Gazette of Wednesday, reveals the following facts. That George Howard, free, was a lodger in the house of Charles Elliot, prisoner for life. That Anne Goodluck, prisoner for 14 years, was an inmate of the same dwelling. That Howard the free man, and Elliot the prisoner, slept in the same bed. Stolen property was found under the bed, and also under the bed of Anne Goodluck. Howard, the free man was committed for trial—Elliot, the prisoner, was sentenced to work three months in irons ; and Anne Goodluck, to remain idly in the Factory, on good rations, with tea and sugar, &c. for 6 months. This report demonstrates the wisdom of Governor Darling's exertions to root out the baneful system of assigning prisoners to settlers of in-ferior character and reputation. And the lenient sen-tences passed on the two convicts, male and female, when contrasted with the severity of the sentences of the barber and the dog-fighter, adverted to in the third column of the 50th page of this paper, is rather la-mentable. WE refer our readers to the New Map of New South Wales, for the veracity of our statements in the last " MONITOR."

There is a very strong rumour in the town, that Mr Rossi intends resigning his situation as chief Police Magistrate. We like Mr. Rossi as a man, but we think no foreigner ought ever to have filled such a situation as Head of Police any where, but par-ticularly in New South Wales. We know no man in this country, so capable of taking Mr. Rossi's place as Mr. Wentworth of Home Bush : But we are afraid this gentleman values his retirement too much, to return to his old post which he filled so popularly for so many years. THE instruments,, the long expected instruments, for the Surveyor Generals Department, have at length arriv-ed. Something extraordinary may now be expected.