Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal (WA : 1833 - 1847), Saturday 2 July 1836, page 720


(FROM A PRIVATE CORRESPONDENT,)

London, January 30, 1836.

I LAST wrote you by the Giraffe, and by that opportunity I informed you of the establishment of the " London Association for the protection of the interests of the Colony " A deputation from this Association had an interview with Lord Glenelg, and obtained his Lordship's sanction to make the following- public, viz. :—" To contradict the report that any members of His Majesty's Government

had asserted in the House ol Commons that the

Colony was a failure. Lord Glenelg added from himself that His Majesty's Government considered the Colony had succeeded, under all the circum-stances, fully equal to the expectations originally formed of it, and that it was going on in a pro-sperous manner." This was published in the news

papers. The "Mirror of Parliament" having stated that Sir G. Grey had used the expression al-luded to, led us to bring the matter before Lord G., although Sir G. had denied to me six weeks before that he had said so, when I waited on him, seeing the Times report of his speech. The aim of the Association has been since then, to disse-minate correct information throughout the country, and contradict what is false, by means of cor-responding members in the agricultural districts and sea-ports. Some of the members of the Asso-ciation hatä had frequent intercourse with die Aus-tralian Bank Directors, with a view of havhig a Branch at the Swan. They assured me that they were as desirous of the fondation of the Branch as the Colonists, aud would establish one whenever they had sufficient information of the resources of the Colony to sanction such a measure. On re-ceipt of the Perth Gazette, J placed in the hand»

of the Directors the number which contained the

application of your Agricultural Society, signed by Mr. M. MacDermott, with the appended statistical report, signed by the Governor, which he laid

befuie the Ëoard of Directors. About this time I " was obliged to leave town, but Captain Gascoyne (one of our Association, and a very intelligent, well-informed man) will com m m neate with the Directors on the subject. I feel persuaded a Branch of the Australian Bank would do more for the Colony than His Majesty's present Government could do, however favorably disposed towards it

The Archbishop ef Dublin is a friend to the Co-lony, and belong» to the ** Poor Inquiry Board ? he said that lie would suggest, that several hun-dred poor people of respectable character should be sent to the Colony, and a sum of £5,000. to be saint out to pay their passage, which thay should re-pay-to the Local Government by instalments fiom their wages. . We proceeded to the Board, and I underwent an examination, with respect to this

pi oject. Í plainly stated the poverty df the settlers, s and, in reply to a question from the Board, I said^ Í could not answer tor the additional laborers being sure of employ, unless a Branch of the Australian Bank was established, which we were now trying to accomplish. t ,

With respect to what has beert doing for the spiritual wants of the Colony, you will perceive, by the accompanying paper, that we have formed a society under the denomination of the Western Aus-tralian Missionary Society.

The following is a copy of the Paper alluded to:-

MISSION TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA,

COMMONLY CALLED THE SWAN RIVER SETTLE-

MENT.

At a Meeting in the Vestry of St John's Chapel,

Bedford-Row, on the 23d of September, and by adjournment at 32, Sackville-street, Piccadilly,

on the 30th, the Hon and Rev. Baptist W. NOEL, in the chair,

Captain Irwin, late Acting Governor of Western Australia, having stated in detail the claims which the Aborigines and Colonists have upon the sympathy of the British Christians; and having also shown that, while facilities for Missionary ex-ertions are presented in that region, the spiritual wants of the inhabitants are left almost wholly unsupplied.

It was unanimously resolved,-

1 -That a Society be formed for establishing a Christian Mission (in conformity with the princi-ples of the Church of England) to the Aborigines and more destitute of the Settlers ; and that its designation be, The Western Australian Mission-ary Society.

2.-That the system to be adopted is to include the instruction of the Aborigines in the arts of civilized life, on the plan pursued in the Moravian

Missions.

3.-That, as the Meeting consider a gentleman who has offered to conduct the Mission duty qualified, a fund be raised for the purpose of spend-ing him out, together with his wife, who will af- ford valuable assistance m the work, and two Catecchists, of whom they also approve ; and that, with a view to this object, an appeal be prepared, and submitted to the public, embodying the prin-cipal points in Captain Irwin's statement, and based upon the Resolutions now adopted.

4.-That a Committee be appointed to conduct the general business of the Society, and the fol-lowing gentlemen be Members for the ensuing year, with power to add to their number:

Hon. and Rev. Baptist Capt. Bazalgette, R.N.

W. Noel. Capt. Gascoyne, Rev. G. Barker. Capt. Cates.

Rev S. Jones. B. Smith, Esq

Rev. H. R. Maude. Lieut. Maynard, RN. Rev. M. Hobart-Seymour. J. Wooley, Esq.

Gen. Tolley, V.P. Thomas Meox, Esq.

C. E. Mangles, Esq , Treasurer.

Capt. Irwin, Honorary Secretary.

5.-That an Annual Subscription of Ten Shil-lings constitutes the Subscriber a Member of this

Society.

6 -That application be made by the Secretary to certain noblemen and others, now or hereafter to be named, to solicit their patronage in aid of the Society.

(Signed) Baptist W. Noel,

Chairman.

Subscriptions and Donations will be received by the Treasurer, at 37, Austin Friars; Messrs.

Drummond, Bankers, Charing Cross; and by Lieut. Skinner, 3w, Sackville-street; Piccadilly.

Appeal-The Colony of Western Australia, commonly called "The Swan River Settlement,"

which was established in 1829, now consists of an European population exceeding 2,000 persons, scattered over a tract of country more than 200 miles in extent. The Aborigines in the district occupied by the Colonists may amount to about the same number. For the spiritual instruction of the Settlers, there is only the Colonial Chaplain, stationary at Perth, the seat of Government : it is evident, therefore, that all who reside in tha re-moter parts of the Colony must be destitute of the advantages of religious ordinance ; while the natives of the country, who are still in the lowest state of barbarism, continue in the grossest heathen dark-ness, without a single Christian teacher of any de-nomination among them.

In the year 1832, an application made to His Majesty's Government on the part of the Colonists, for additional Chaplains, and a memorial for Mis-sionaries to the natives, addressed to the Church Missionary Society, were equally without success. By a communication recently received from a gen-tleman holding a high official situation in the Co-lony (dated 18th March last) it appears that the religious feelings of some of the Settlers themselves

are beginning to decline. After inquiring whether any thing had been arranged by way of Missionary aid from the existing Societies in England, the writer adds,- "We are fast lasping into a state of indifference in that respect, both as regards our-selves and the natives. Indeed, we, who have known better, are in a most deplorable state, from the gradual fading of those impressions which

habitual exercise tends so much to keep distinctly

marked."

Every one who appreciates the blessings of the Gospel will be desirous to extend them to those who, constrained by circumstances to settle in this distant region, are severely feeling the privation of the means of grace so which they are now subject-ed; and as regards the Aborigines, it is plainly a moral duty to train them in, the habits of civilized life, and to prepare them, by religious culture, for the great social change to which their intercourse with Europeans has given birth. Impressed with these considerations, a Society was organized in Dublin at the commencement of the present year, for sending out Missionaries to the Colony ; but it was subsequently deemed more expedient, on many accounts, that the principal or Central Society should be in London ; the Association in Dublin still co-operating with the friends of the object in England, and undertaking to contribute liberally towards the funds required for the purpose.

The spiritual interests of the Colony have also awakened the interests of several friends of religion, in Glasgow, Members of the Church of Scotland, whose pecuniary assistance has been generously offered for the subject. It is due to the latter to state, that this Mission originated in a proposal, on their part to the Church Missionary Society, to send to the settlement a Missionary of the Church of England,--the Colonists being mostly of that, persuasion, and that the necessary funds would be raised by the Glasgow Association, and friends of the cause in other parts of the United Kingdom. The Society, in lamenting their inability to accede to the proposal, expressed tbeir deep sense of the "liberal and Catholic spirit" that suggested it; a spirit which, it is confidently expected, will be evinced by the friends of religion of other denomina-tions, in answer to this appeal. The Committee are happy in being able to state that an interest has been excited in Germany, through the instru- mentality of the Rev J. Fjellstedt, of the Church Missionary Society. That Gentleman writes from Stuggard,of the 27th of August last (after com-municating with some friends on the subject), his expectation that a corresponding Association could be formed there, that would take much Christian interest in the Mission. As various attempts to obtain the desired advantages from several Mis-sionary Institutions have failed, and as the spiritual aspect of the Settlement, unless speedy measures of relief can be adopted, must become gradually more distressing, it has been resolved to establish a separate Society, the express object of which shall be the religious and moral improvement of the Colony. The progress which has been already made may be learned from the foregoing resolu-tions ; and it is certainly hoped that Christians of all denominations will lend their countenance to an undertaking, the design of which is the perpetua-tion of pure and undefined religion among those of our countrymen who have emigrated from their native land, and the propagation of the Gospel among the benighted heathen in the midst of whom they are settled.

By Order of the Committee,

(Signed) F. C. IRWIN,

Honorary Secretary.

The Rev. Dr. Ginstiniani, the Missionary se-lected by the Society, is highly approved of by the London and Dublin Committee, for his spirit and acquirements ; he is a man singularly fitted to con-duct the Mission. Dr. G. has been in the habit of

preaching, in London, in English, German, French, and Italian ; he knows, also, the Hebrew, Syriac, Greek and Latin languages. He has a good practical knowledge af the sciences, botany, chemistry, mechanics, &c. He has also taken a distinguished degree as a physician. He has fully proved his sincerity and devotedness to the cause by the sacrifices he has made.