Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth, WA : 1855 - 1901), Wednesday 25 January 1865, page 3


The following are the official instructions for the guidance of the Resident in the North District, and Mr Assistant Surveyor Phelps : — INSTRUCTIONS TO THE GOVERN-MENT RESIDENT of the NORTH DISTRICT. Colonial Secretary's Office, Perth, January 20, 1865. Sir, — I have already had the honour of notify-ing by my letter of the 30th ult. No. 45—1143, that His Excellency Governor Hampton had been pleased, subject to the approval of Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, to confer on you the appointment of Government Resident in the North District of this Colony, and it now becomes my duty, by the Governor's directions, to lay down for your guidance general instruc-tions for carrying on the public service in the very responsible position to which you have been nominated. 2. — The boundaries of the North District are defined in the existing Land Regulations, with copies of which you have been furnished, and settlers have already proceeded to several localities within its limits ; its extent however renders it impracticable for one Magistrate to exercise juris-diction over the whole; and it has been decided you should proceed to Camden Harbour, to which port several vessels with settlers and stock are reported to have sailed from the colony of Victoria, and that the ultimate division of the new country into separate Districts should be left for further consideration. 3. — With this view the barquetta Tien Tsin has been chartered and will be ready to sail on or about the 25th inst. with the party detailed to accompany you. 4. — I annex (enclosure No. 1) a nominal list of the several persons who have been directed to proceed with you to your destination, showing, also the rates of salary payable to each person, and the duties to which they have been specially

appointed ; you will distinctly understand that all the persons named in this list are placed under your authority and control ; that His Excellency looks to you for the enforcement of good conduct amongst them, and for the efficient discharge of their respective duties. The necessity of prompt and cheerful obedience to your wishes and instructions has been carefully impressed upon them, and it should be your earnest endeavour, by every means in your power, so to regulate your intercourse with them as to ensure the existence of those reciprocal friendly feelings, without which the interests of the public service are sure to suffer. 5. — Mr Assistant Surveyor Phelps has been appointed to the Commission of the Peace, and, as the person next in rank to yourself, will, either in the event of any casualty occurring, or in the case of your illness or absence from Camden Harbour or its vicinity, assume your duties, reporting his proceedings, with as little delay as possible, to Head Quarters. 6. — The men detailed to accompany you have been so carefully selected that their misconduct is looked upon as a very improbable event; should, however, any misbehaviour or insubordi-nation unfortunately take place, the Governor looks to you to take such prompt steps as may at once check such proceedings, and authorises you to suspend any member of the party so offending from pay and duty, and to appoint, pending his pleasure, such persons as you may find it necessary to engage for the protection of your party, and the performance of such duties as you may deem necessary or advisable.

7. — On board the Tien Tsin your party will be rationed by the owners of the vessel, in accordance with a scale and on terms arranged by the Government, and it will form part of your duty to see that the rations issued are of good quality and in proper quantity, and that effective arrangements are provided for cooking and messing purposes generally. I have already handed to you a copy of the terms on which the Tien Tsin, has been engaged. 8. — During the voyage you will issue such instructions as you may consider to be proper for the comfort and good conduct of the party under your control, being specially careful that the rules relating to cleanliness, hours for meals and retiring to rest, the use of lights, and the non-interference with the crew of the vessel, are rigidly enforced; and it is desirable you should instruct your party not to assist in working the vessel, except at the special request of the Master, and then only under your instructions. 9. — You will be furnished with horses for Police and Survey purposes, and with some sheep, in order that you may have a supply of fresh meat on landing, and it is, I feel sure, needless to suggest that your special attention should be directed to the care of the stock during the voyage ; regular watches, day and night, should be appointed; change of food should be given to the sheep or horses if they appear unwell ; and should they not take to the natural herbage on landing, you will give them forage, of which an ample supply will be provided. 10.— Rations for nine months for your whole party will be placed on board by the Commis-

sariat Department, and will be in charge of Mr C. Chamberlain, Assistant Commissariat Store-keeper, who will issue them, on landing, under your instructions. Each of the officers and men of your party will be entitled to a free ration till further orders, but for the rations issued to the wives and children of Pensioners and Police, a stoppage will be made at the rate of 6d per diem for adults, and 3d per diem for children. En-closure No. 2 shows the daily scale of rations for

adults and children, and No. 3. is a list of the provisions supplied by the Commissariat. The payment for the ration stoppages will be arranged at Head Quarters from the accounts, when received from you. Considerable supplies, other than the daily ration, will be furnished by the Commissariat, and can be issued under your orders, but these must all be paid for, at prices to be previously arranged. A large assortment of medical comforts will also be placed under your control, to be used in cases of sickness or emergency. 11. — Your first duty on arrival at Camden Harbour will be to land in company with Mr Assistant Surveyor Phelps, and to decide on some spot for the location of your party, and for the formation of a depot. In selecting a locality it is desirable that a somewhat commanding site should be chosen, not in the immediate neighbourhood of settlers who may have arrived before you, nor at so remote a distance as to preclude the rendering mutual assistance, if necessary ; the vicinity of good water should be a sine qua non, and if practica-ble the ground should be so chosen that a rough fence or stockade could be erected round it, so as to prevent the possibility of surprise by sudden attack from the aborigines. 12. — The first and paramount care will be to see that your stores of all descriptions are pro-perly housed and protected, and that a sufficient party are at all times left with them for their own protection and that of the property entrusted to them. A wooden house, 30 by 15 feet, and in two compartments, which can be quickly put together, will be shipped on board the Tien Tsin, and in addition to a supply of tents for immediate use, timber for rammed earth quarters for all your party, with door frames and windows, will be furnished, so that it is hoped, by exerting all the strength of your party to this end, it will not be long before you are enabled to report that the exposure to the sun and rain has not been of long duration. A due regard to health in the tropics renders this a matter of primary importance. 13. — A medical man has not been detailed to accompany the expedition, because it is under-stood from a reliable source that two surgeons have already proceeded thither from Melbourne.

In such case, you are authorized to engage the services of one of them to attend members of your party on such terms as may appear to be fair and reasonable. Should it unfortunately prove that no surgeon is available, His Excel-lency trusts that the medical knowledge possessed by you and by Mr Chamberlain, will enable you to use with judgment and benefit the medicines supplied, which are in ample quantity and selected by the Principal Medical Officer, with a due regard to the peculiarities of the climate and the probable ailments that will be prevalent on the North-West Coast. 14. — Prior to conveying the instructions of His Excellency the Governor as to your general proceedings after your landing has been effected, and your stores properly housed, I am to offer for your guidance, some remarks on the several official duties of a varied and important nature that will devolve upon you as the Government Resident of the District. 15.— You will be provided by the Colonial Treasurer with a sum of five hundred pounds to meet casual expenses, pay wages, &c., and as the majority of those who accompany you have made arrangements to draw their salaries in Perth, it is believed this sum, with the amounts that will pro-bably from time to time be paid to you as revenue, will be sufficient for all public purposes for some considerable period, but in the event of your being pressed for money to carry on the public service, you are authorized to draw upon the Colonial Secretary for such amount as you may require. It is impossible to issue instructions as to a system of exchange, which can only be regulated by local circumstances, and it must therefore be left to your judgment and experience. You must understand that it is considered inadvisable that you should entertain monetary transactions in any form but that of cash payments, except in the event of your having to draw upon the Government for money. You will be provided with a secure iron chest for the safe custody of cash, and though you are at liberty to oblige others by

depositing private monies in it, such accommoda-tion is only to be afforded at their urgent request, and in all cases at their own risk. You have already been instructed to place yourself in com-munication with the Colonial Treasurer, who will afford you detailed information as to the mode of keeping the public accounts, which should have your special care, and furnish you with the necessary books, forms, &c. 16. — In the Government Gazette of the 17th instant a proclamation appears notifying the declaration of Port Camden, and this has been done to enable you to carry out the provisions of the Customs Ordinance of 1860, so far as its provisions are to be made applicable to the North District. The boundaries of this Port are exten-sive, in order that you may have full scope for determination as to the best places for landing goods, and for the future erection of bonding storehouses. It will be your duty to issue notices as to the proper places tor landing goods, and to see that your instructions on this head are strictly adhered to. It is not proposed at present to levy duties on imported goods, other than spirits, wines, beer, and tobacco, on which the usual im-port duties will be charged, provided such duties have not previously been paid in the settled Districts, and it is desirable you should give public notice to this effect, in some formal manner, as soon as practicable after your arrival. The Collector of Customs has been instructed to afford to you and to the Tidewaiter the fullest informa-tion on all points connected with the duties of his Department, and to see that you are furnished with proper gauging instruments, books, forms,

and such other matters as he may consider to be essential for the due carrying out of the services to be performed by you. 17. — The Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, will not at first prove a duty of a very onerous nature, but it is advisable you should, at an early date, make yourself ac-quainted with the numbers, sex, ages, and con-dition of those who may have arrived at Port Camden, and make the necessity for, and the mode of registration, generally known. This, and a due attention to returns of arrivals and departures, will enable you to compile a correct census of your population at any time with little trouble, with which it is necessary you should periodically keep the Registrar-General acquainted. That officer has been directed to provide you with the customary set of books and forms, and such information as to the mode of keeping them as you may require. 18. — Copies of the Acts of Council, with such books of legal reference as are likely to be of use to you, will be supplied, and to enable you sum-marily to decide cases of debt to an extent of £50, and thus avoid the spread of litigation or a reference to the Supreme Court, a Local Court has been established at the Town of Elliot, in Port Camden, and you have been appointed the Magistrate thereof. This will probably remain a dead letter for some time, but has been inaugu-rated for the decision of cases that cannot now be foreseen. 19. — A sergeant, a corporal, and ten privates of the Enrolled Pensioner Force have been detailed to accompany the expedition, and act as a protection to the party, and a guard over the stores. Definite and precise instructions have

been drawn up by the Honourable the Com-mandant, showing the duties to be rendered by them, and the position they hold towards you, and a copy of these instructions will be handed to you. When not on, or wanted for, military duty, these men can be employed in the erections of buildings or such other work as you may decide upon, and will be paid by you on the

spot, at the rates specified in the instructions adverted to. 20. — A corporal of Police, with two European and two native constables, have been placed under orders to proceed in the Tien Tsin to Camden Harbour for the performance of the usual police duties of your District. These men have been selected, not only for their qualities as good bushmen, but as intelligent, active con-stables, who will cheerfully carry out your instructions, not alone as connected with the duties of their particular department, but in any way you may consider their services most available. They will be provided with four horses for riding purposes, with full equipment of saddlery, and a cart and two draught horses will be shipped for general service, and can be looked after for the present by the Police, who will see that a due supply of forage is placed on board the Tien Tsin. The Superintendent of Police has been directed to forward for your information a copy of his instructions as to the departmental duties of these men. The cor-poral of Police has also been appointed to act as the Bailiff of the Local Court. Mr T. C. Sholl, who has been appointed to the office of Postmaster at Port Camden, in addition to the other duties that he will assume on arrival thither, has been directed to report himself to the Postmaster-General, in order to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the nature of the postal duties, and it is desirable you should see that a proper supply of postage and official stamps, and other requisites for carrying out the postal regu-lations are provided. 22.— Assistant Surveyors Phelps and Cowle have been directed to accompany you, with chainers, tents, carts, and four horses, and will, like all other members of the expedition, be placed under your orders. I have already informed you that His Excellency has added the name of Mr Phelps to the Commission of the Peace, and that he will assume your duties, in the event of any casualty or illness disabling you, and the Governor feels sure that you may depend on receiving the counsel and aid his experience may enable him to afford, and that on all occasions he will endeavour to uphold your autho-rity, and assist you in the discharge of the multi-farious and responsible duties devolving on you. The Honourable the surveyor General will furnish you

with a copy of the instructions he has issued for the guidance of Mr Phelps, in which you will find many valuable hints that will be of great service to you in the selection of townsites, and in the general routine of your important duties in connection with the sale and leasing of land, and the location on runs of settlers, who either have already arrived, or may hereafter arrive, with stock. 23. — To assist you in constructing, with as little de-lay as possible, the necessary buildings for the location of the members of your party, some labourers and mechanics are to be hired to accompany you; the nominal list referred to in paragraph No. 2, shows the conditions on which they have been engaged, and the rates at which they are to be paid. These men are placed entirely under your orders, and it would appear advisable they should be employed:— 1st,— In assisting in the temporary location of the party and stores; 2nd, — In clearing the bush in the vicinity of the camp; 3rd, In clearing such tracks as may be necessary to and from the camp; 4th,— In the col-lection of material for, and erection of, the buildings requisite for housing the party. His Excellency, however, does not in any way desire to fetter your discretion as to the manner in which they are to be employed, feeling sure your good sense and discretion will lead you to put them to the most advantageous purposes. 24. — The selection and laying out of a townsite on the shore of Port Camden or its immediate vicini-ty will be one of the first and most important duties that will devolve upon you, and in this you will be greatly assisted by Mr Assistant Surveyor Phelps, and by the very copious instructions on this head with which he has been furnished by the Surveyor-General. Materials for building purposes, means for good drainage, an ample water supply, adjacent ground suitable for garden purposes, and free exposure to the sea breezes, will be matters not likely to escape your observation when directed to this object. 25. — The Regulations for the lease and disposal of land require your careful attention, as on your arrival you will, in all probability, be called upon by many persons connected with the Melbourne Camden Harbour Association to locate them on lands which they may have selected without reference to the rules

applicable to pastoral lands or to the neighbourhood of proposed townsites or public reserves. I have handed to you for presentation to Mr Meaden, the managing Director of this Association, a letter addressed to him from my office, enclosing a copy of a letter to Mr Harvey, also a Director of the Asso-ciation, in which the decision of His Excellency on the numerous applications received from those gentle-men is clearly and precisely laid down. A copy of this communication I have also forwarded for your own guidance in dealing with their applications. Under the land regulations, and adhering to the stipulations laid down in this letter, you are authorized to approve the applications of persons for free runs of land not exceeding 100,000 acres for any one establishment, but, on consideration of those applica-tions, and prior to their approval, you will bear in mind, that a preference is to be shown to any person who may desire to secure land at once by taking up blocks of 20,000 acres on 8 years' leases, and with payment at the rate of five shillings per 1000 acres. You will be specially careful in dealing with applica-tions for free runs from persons connected with the Camden Harbour Association, to look at them by the light of the prospectus of that Association. Claims from the hired servants of that Association cannot be admitted, unless in each instance a separate establish-ment is formed. Should there be conflicting claims for the same run, and in your opinion the claims of each applicant are equal in every respect, the matter must be decided by lot. Each applicant for a separate run must satisfy you that the stock on account of which he claims a run is bona fide hs property. You are further authorised to appove applications for the purchase of Town, Suburban and Country lots . Town and Suburban lots are to be sold by public auction, the former at an upset price of £10 per lot, and the latter at an upset price of £3 per

acre, at periodical times, to be duly notified by you. Country allotments will be sold during the first twelve months to the extent of 150,000 acres, at the rate of 7 s. 6d. per acre, under Regulations proclaimed on the 17th instant, and which will be published in the Government Gazette of the 20th instant, with copies of which you will be furnished. After twelve months, or within that time, supposing 150,000 acres to have been disposed of, country lands will be sold at 10s. per acre, under the Regulations of 20th August, 1864. Under the new regulations you will note that, during the ensuing twelve months, purchasers of country lands to an extent of 160 acres at 7s 6d per acre, will be entitled to one town allotment at the same rate. 26.— As a Stipendiary Magistrate, it will be your duty, assisted when necessary by Mr Phelps, to administer the law. Your extensive knowledge of the Acts of Council applicable to cases of summary jurisdiction renders any remark on this bead unneces-sary. Directions have already been issued to supply you with such numbers of the usual forms applicable to minor Courts, as you are likely to require for some time. 27. — The treatment of the aborigines, who are reported to be troublesome and treacherous, will demand the utmost caution on your part. The able instructions on this head issued by the South Austra-lian Government to Colonel Finniss, who has proceeded to Adam Bay in a somewhat similar capacity to that you are about to assume, are herewith repeated for your guidance, His Excellency the Governor feeling that it is impossible better to express the line of con-duct he would wish should be assumed towards the native inhabitants of the soil you are about to occupy. "Your duty will be to exercise the greatest ????? and forbearance in communicating with them, and (?) warn your party to studiously avoid giving them the

slightest offence; and should you find them sufficiently trustworthy to have intercourse with them, or to enter into any dealings with them, you must insist upon every transaction being carried out on your part with the most scrupulous exactness; and, while it may be well to encourage communication with them, by showing them you are prepared to trust them, you will take every precaution against their taking you by surprise, by always being prepared to act upon the defensive, by keeping regular watch in your camp, and by ordering your party not to move about the country in small parties, or unarmed. Above all, you must warn your party to abstain from anything like hostility towards them, and to avoid the extremities of a conflict, which must only be had recourse to in self-defence, and only then from absolute necessity. You will show them that, while you are anxious to gain their goodwill and confidence by kindness and judicious liberality, yon are able to repel, and, if necessary, punish aggression. As a matter of pre-caution, I am directed to impress on you the necessity that, for some time after your arrival a line should be drawn around your camp and distinctly marked, inside of which line no natives should, on any pretence whatever, be admitted. A large supply of presents, suitable for the aborigines, has been purchased, and will be despatched in the Tien Tsin, to be disposed of in such manner as may seem desirable to you. 28.— You will not fail to see that Divine service is regularly and decently performed, and it will be the duty of all your party professing the Protestant faith to attend on such occasions. 29. — After your party is landed, the Tien Tsin will return to Fremantle, and it is desirable you should, by that opportunity, as far as practicable, forward a report containing your impressions of the coast, the climate and its productions, the suitability of Port Camden as a resort for shipping, your general ideas as to the formation of a town, some account of the proceedings of those who have arrived before you, and any information of a general nature that may be made available for intending settlers. You will also not fail to communicate with head-quarters by every available opportunity, giving a full account of your proceedings, and of the progress of the settlement. 30.— Your correspondence will in all cases be ad-dressed to the Colonial Secretary, and you will make it known among your party that no communication that any of them desires to make to the Government will be acknowledged, unless it be transmitted through you, in order that you may forward a report thereon for the information of His Excellency the Governor. 31 — There is no reason to doubt that on arrival at Port Camden, you will find a settlement already formed, and from one to two hundred persons, with a consider-able number of stock, in occupation of the country. It is just possible that exploration of the coast may have induced them to form a location at some point not immediately in the neighbourhood of Port Camden, and it will be for your careful consideration to decide whether it would be wise to follow the example of those who have preceded you, or closely to adhere to the instructions to form your Depot at Port Camden. On this point it is impossible to issue precise directions, but His Excellency has full confidence in your judg-ment and discretion, feeling assured he may safely leave the matter in your hands, and that, should you feel it necessary to deviate from the course laid down, you will be able to afford good and sufficient reasons for so doing. 32. — I have endeavorued in the foregoing instruc-tions to place you fully in possession of the views of His Excellency Governor Hampton upon the princi-pal points of duty that will devolve upon you, but there are numerous details into which it is impossible I should enter, and which, at so great a distance from head-quarters, can only be decided by yourself. You are to consider these instructions as for your general guidance; you are not bound to adhere to them in minute particulars, where circumstances may occur to justify a departure from them ; but whenever you may decide on any departure from them, you will be careful to report the cases, and the reasons for such departure, for the information of His Excellency the Governor. I shall only, in conclusion, assure you that His Excellency fully relies on your ability and discretion, and the cheerful obedience of the members of your party ; and while he prays that the blessings of an All-merciful Providence may attend your pro-ceedings, he confidently commits you to His care, in the firm belief that your expedition is the first step to the opening of a new and important province of the Australian Continent, and that you are acting as the pioneer of future wealth and civilization, beneficial to Western Australia and the Mother Country. I have the Honor to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant FRED. P. BARLEE, To R. J. Sholl. Esquire, Government Resident, North District.