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ATUIiOGY FOlt THU SQUATTKKS.
To the Editor of tho Empire.
Sm-It has not been without pain, and some
little apprehension, that I huro observed your
journal, of late, joining ¡II tho clamour ngninst tlie
squnttors-a olatnour in its origin, no doubt, vul-
gar und contemptible, the olfsprlngnf the mean-
est envy wedded to tho most inveterato prejudice
-raised by n robUe of obscure scrihblors nnil in-
tolerable orators, who hnvo boen mtforcd lo de
grado tho columns of newspapers hy malicious ca-
rumnies and unfounded representations of that un-
happy class; but adopted nfternnrds, either from
want of consideration, or from vnriois motives of
interest or convenience, hy politicians of a higher
onler, and by these invested with a degree of im-
portance that appears to mo to excuse, if not to
darnum! any endeavour, however humble, to correct
its mischievous tendencies. It gives mo pain, Sir,
to perceive that minds of moro thnn ordinary ca-
pacity and iiitcltigoucn are not exempt from tho
dominion of cant, mid I confess my apprehensions
aro exulted when I consider tho additional power
that govelting demon trill derive from Icing nsso
cia ted with such nuxilnt io* ns yourself. I cannot
conceal from myself thu influence .you undoubtedly
oxert upon tho thoughts nnd politioil tendencies
of this community-nu iniliiuuce that in nil pro-
bability trill continue to increase-and though
tho dunger which might otherwise bu feared from
your hostility is very much diminished by tho
nature of thu views you. entertain, which appear
to mo to he in general too \ bioim*/ and imprac-
ticable to bo capablo of ii.Hiding m noll speoial
injury upon the interests ngairst whioh your
attucks aro principally directed, I yet lenard the
endeavour to perpétralo what would bo iu my
opinion a vast social mid political injustice ns in
itself an evil of too much magnitude to remain
unnoticed hy any ono who believes himself
qualified to form n judgment upon the question
ot issue. Now, Slr, 1 trust I can feel compassion
for tho victims of thoso depraved appetites that
urge tho obscure demngogue to purchase by low
nbtifo nn in famous aud degrading notoriety. J
eau make some allowance for the desperate UCCP
sitlos of dull but ambitious orators, reduced to
buoy up their leaden harangues by slanderous
Irrelevancies. "Nor nm I very much surprised
when journals Hutt only exist hy tho versatility
of their convictions, speculate in clap-trup articles
iippj» tho supposed popular sido of a subject
universally and grossly- misunderstood. But 1
must do you tho justicu to deny you uny such
such allowances or oxcuses, and to acquit you of
all such basely Intoreetcd views, while, at tho
flume lime, I cannot suppose you guilty ol'un aim-
less and deliberate injustice Jlut 1 fear you hnvo
been guilty of the rashness of assuming opinions
without duo onquiry into fuels, mid though, no
doubt, the basis ol'your hostility to the squatters
is ignorance, yoi, whore thc sources of correct in-
formation uro not inaccessible, and tho capacity
for judging so undeniably cxoellont, ignorance can
scarcely bo dissociated from sotno dorree of prc
judiac. Tho truces of this uro visible lu too innny
of your lata nt tides. It is'really pitiable to ECO
the charnctor of tho Empire, commonly so well
sustained for sound judgment and impartiality,
damaged by tho reiterated application of snell
terms IIB "sori'doni," " vnssulngo," "slavery," to
tho condition of labourers in tho squatting dis-
tricts; or by such a lino of arguaient, if argument
lt can be called, ns thut by which you irretistibly
i in prosa your reactors of thc moral necessity thal
obliges tho squatters to supply poisons in their
employment with bad rations. "if you could be-
come au oyo-wituess, not only of tho absolute
equality, In point of independence, of tho
labourer with tho squatter who employs
him, but, in many cases, of thu vast
control exercised by thu foi mer over tho designs,
thc notions, and oven tho fortunes ol' tho lnttor,
you would «nd souio dlllioulty in determining
which of tho two classes were most deserving of
the name of vassals, It is not to be denied that
tho squatters sometimes supply their men with
bad rations of flour, tea, sugar, tobacco, &c, for
these simple reasons, that there aro so many
rascally millers, dishonest tradesmen, clever mer
chants, and indifferent agents in Sydney, who are
fond of supplying thoir customers in tho bush
with tho refuse and unsalable articles of their
shops and warehouses, and that peculiar circum
stances, which it is not necessary to particularise,
frequently compel tho isolated squatter to tho
alternativo of either consuming such trash or
doing altogether without ptovisions and other
necessaries of lifo. But In such cases tho squatter
must consume his own share of the bad article,
mid lils men, perceiving tho fault not to bo his,
have generally the justice and good sense to sub-
mit to tho temporary initiation. But Lad meat
would not ho tolerated, ni.d to suppoao that any
squatter dare oiler his mon bad rations while ho
himself was in possession nnd enjoy mont of hotter,
is an Idea almost too ludicrous to require refuta-
tion, but of whioh, if you «till persist lu it, 1
must trust to tho subfoquout ronmiks in my
lotter to disabuse you,
î I am persuaded tho Editor of tho Empire 1B too
truly liberal not to regard tho squatters with
Very dlfloront feelings, could ho but oneo be
brought to eoe bow much ho: has mlauudoritood
theni^aod Jl hopa I shall nat b» deemed presump-
tuous if ll try to remote liU prejudices, anti to
idter wttat 1 consider Iiis erroneous opinions. I
havo-already addressed, you, Sir, with onudour
and aimil onlor un ray subject without further
oircuialooutlon. I ititi not altogether unused to
refbietloii, mid some yours experience of a squat-
ter"* lifo has furnished mo with faots. And
tIioue.il I cnn scarcely hopotc. do justice to this
question, tim importance! of which is not easily
overrated, my humble suggestions may yoi induce
you to approach it, in your future lucubrations
with somewhat of a moro lihoral spirit. " '
1 would ask you, Sir, in tho first placo, to con-
sider what these- squatter« aro about whoso enor-
mities so much is wrilton in the Syd noy papen.
They- ai o not unicorns, dragons, or such-liko
monsters, which ono might readily imagino to be
judging from tho pictures drawn by excruciating
orators, and tho original correspondents. of the
Jinnpire und. other pupers. They bolong not only
to ino human, species, hut, for the most part, to
tho highly oivilised Anglo-Saxon variety of it.
They uro not Tartars', Kabyles), Kaffirs, or Esqni
uiauxos. You may designnte them ns barbarians,
but you cannot make thom out to bc .foreigners.
They hnvo, consequently, seine right aud
title to eura their living in this colony
in whatever way" they choose, and to
bo proteo ti d in so doing by thu Government, pro.
vided they break- i.o laws, nnd trespass on no
rights, lt strikes me they have even a claim to
Christian treatment and forbearance, but ns it
might bo considered invidious in the present day
to insist on this, 1 am not disposed to urge it
any further.
Tho squatters aro not a class in tho strictest
meaning of the farm, 'they have in reality, no
peculiar class interests, nor can I perceive how
class legislation, much as it has been talked about,
is in any way applicable to their condition, who,
more than any other body, consist of the most
heterogeneous materials and include among their
ranks recruits from nearly all other classes. They
aro bound together by no legislative soldering, by
no principle of corporative or municipal associa-
tion. Local self-government has neier been at-
tempted among them, is perhaps forbidden by
their mode of life. So averse indeed aro they to
combinations of whatever sort that it has been
found next to impossible to bring them to co
operate for political or even commercial purposes
in tho simplest forms and on tho most important
occasions. Their peculiar privileges-if tbey
have any, and for tho life of me, though a squat-
ter of many years standing, I have never yet
been able to discover any—are open and acces-
sible to all, even the meanest and most obscure, of
her "Majesty's subjects. Every one who has
either cash or credit may turn squatter,
and none, I imagine, will be bold enough,
to maintain that cash and credit are peculiar
privileges of tho squatters, of these privileges I
ahull say something more by und by.
Your notions of the squatters are doubtless,
taken from a class of men not properly belonging
to tho samo category, yet, who in reality consti-
tute tho majority " ol' euch es appear publicly
nuder thut prescribed name, beforo the oyes of
tho citizens of Sydney, and who ore generally un-
derstood to represent the squatters at public
meetings and dinners and to act their part
on the boards pf tho Legislative Council.
I speak of commercial speculators, who
oro found to mingle with almost every class,
without actually amalgamating with it, who live
bv the temporary investment ot capital in profit,
i.bta undertakings-who, upon ebbing and flowing
markets, aro borne hither and thither, into every
clnnnel that lies open to tho vast ocean of com-
mercial enterprise and adventure. I have no
wish to sneer at or deprecate- these men-nor
would I on any account hold them up to that
vulgar odium which is so easily excited against
tho wealthy and prosperous. 1 hnvo no doubt
they havo their uses in tho economy of commerce,
and even of colonisation.. I merely state the
fact, that they are not- strictly squatters, as they
are not strictly colonists.
Tho true squatter is a colonist in every sense
of thc word. Ho is ono who by his own labour
creates his capital out of the soil, ia
improving which, as far as he is permitted by
oppressive regulations, ho continues to expend his
profits. Iiis capital is built togethor out of no-
thing, or more commonly accumulated as it were,
round a smnll nuoleus of means upon which he
begun to settle. Ho is much more of a labourer
than a capitalist, because ho docs not invest with
the view to taking advuntngo of a futuro rise in
prico to sell out again, mid hcoausc to make his
venturo in the least profitable, nay oven to enablo
him to derivo, a mero subsistence from it, it is
absolutely necessary for him to labour both with
head nod hands. Ko doubt there are many de-
grees of difference between the large squatting
capitalist, who only occasionally visits his sta-
tions, living principally in Sydnoy, or some of its
environs, and drawing upon himself tho envy of
your citizens, by an expenditure of income de-
rived almost entirely from tho labour of other
mon, und tho poor working squatter, ground be-
tween tho two opposing forces of capital nnd
labour, who, uron a fow thousand sheep ora fu»
cattle, struggles from year io year to meet
with difficulty his heavy expenses,
aud in addition to tho toil of the daily labourer,
ls burdened with nil tho caros of property, from
which ha derives a bnro subsistence ; but the
justice of tho distinction I hnvo drawn is never-
theless perceptible on rofcrenco lo facts. Thoro
nra_ hundreds of squatters who hnvo begun on
capitals too snail to repay for many years more
than tho expenses of superintendence, who, to-
gether with ninny others whose means have been
reduced hy misfortune, or pcrhups mismanage
ment, aro compelled to work harder than their
own hired servants; hundreds more who have, as
lt were, risen from tho ranks of tho labouring
classes, from which they emerge only hy; degrees,
and under tho prcssuro of constant difficulties.
Men of this Intter stamp you may seo enter your
towns with tho air of strangers, a sort of rough
iiueomfortablencsB nbotit them, unskilfully coo*
coaled nuder what you may term a barbaric lovo
cr contempt of decoration. So much havo they
loved even the shadow of that independence
which, to them us to most men, hus proved little
elso than imaginary, that thoy have preferred
tho endurance for years of solitude, hardship, and
privation, of which they cannot for a length
of limo, perhaps nover, roap tho rewards, to tho
temptations of nn easier life, and far moro rema
noratlvo wages earned in tho service of nnother.
You, Sir, that aro so staunch an advócalo of the
rights, so eloquent a vindicator of tho dignity of
labour, havo you no senso of pity for thoso rude
master workmen, who for tho best part of their
1 Ivos lmvo led en their little bands of followers
nnd fellow-labourers in tito cause of colonisa-
tion ?' Must your benovolont sympathies he en-
tirety confined to that class of men who sell their
industry for wages to tho utter exclusion .of nil -
tho'0 who, howover unconsciously, hnvo spent
thoji* energies in tho ondenvour to exalt labour
by joining it to personal independence 7 -
Lot tho proudest aristocrat onoo tum squatter
in right enrnoat, and thore is no otonpo for hint
from work. Poriods will înovltably occur, under
tho most judicious nnd most fortunato manage-
ment,whoo tboro is no alternativo for bim be-
tween manual labour and utter ruin. Tho
squatter must ot times not only direct and eupoN
intern! his mon, hut sot thom an example In per-
son. To uso a phraso of Carlyle's, he is a
modern "Captain of Industry"—a master
workman, and not a mere paymaster of hirelings.
In short, thu intercourse between employer and
employed is, in tho squatting districts, restored
ti Bomowlint of its nntiqno" simplicity. Per nap«
nio.it country occupations, in these colonies havo
somowhat of a similar effect, but nowhere so
visibly as among tho squatting population, whore
tho scarcity of labour reaches its minimum, nj1"
tho Independence of tho employed ls secured oy
tho hlghost ruto of wngos consistent with tito
prolltB of tho employer. But inttst not this slato
of IhlngB bo in n high (logreo beneficial to lom
of llicsu ciñeses f Must not labour become gra-
dually olovnled in a condition of society which so
completely obliterates tho dregs, which aro too
worst part of tho lingoring feudalism ot I no ola ?
world, by equalising tho control, exorcised over
onoh other by tho master mid his workman I
Doubtloss, as population thickens, tho rotation i
speak of will ho modified, but tho boundaries or
tho colony will continuó to extend themselves,
and tho new stations In their vicinity will for»
long time be a sort of "school for masters," who
undergo thoroln a training which thoy aro never
llkoly to forget.

, I would noie you next, Slr, what wrong di
i tho squatter commit deserving, of. (he era
,le»e vllupornllon you and' your original ci
,TOBf-ondunt»Uhiiik fit lo loud'him with 1 ?
goes forth into tho wildcrnoi-B to gratify a natu
.-desire; nay, more, lo exorcise a natural right-I

dosi J e of îiuding* a home upon the soil-the rig
.to acquire property in some portion ol' tho eart
unappropriated surface, But your luna mi
.him with prohibitory prices, your rogulatic
.encumber him with all manner of technical a
. official difficulties. Government-whose oh:
daly ono would think, ought in n colony to ct
slat in facilitating colonisation, that U, in dist
buting and scttlim? the lundi hy speedy aliei
tiou, und by devising encouragements and indui
mcnts to all immigrants desirous of owning land
.seems to hnva been constituted from tho fli
with 'a totally contrary design. A minimi
prico of one pound per nero, und the surv
department J 'Ibo force of obstruction could
.further go.

.What a noblo example has been f et us in tl
matter bv tho shrewd Americans! They et
plainly, that where laud from its abundance w
.comparatively;valueless, aniî population on tl
other hand invaluable, thc true policy was

.course to exchange land for mon, by malting tl
forraor^accessible on the onsicst terms. "Vin
were willing oven to givo away their unprodu
tive acres to any enterprising- pair of band
ready to render them productive. Too cloon
alive to their true interest to haggle about price

to sailer tho-ardour of tho colonist to cool undi
tho iatmosphère of a survey department sue
as our.*, th«y not only sell their hinds at low price
but. pass homestead laws to convert, ns so-
fts possiblu, tho squatter iuto tho settler. 1
America, they do not exeorato tho squatter, <
cndsMour-what is- perhaps impassible-to pu
bim aown. But however puriuloxical it mu
?ound, they discourage bim by the most effectui
means by encouraging him. For squatting ht
longs as necessarily to colonisation os immigrs
tiou itself.- In tlioso colonies, it lina been sivcllc
to an undue importance by impolitic restriction
on the alienation tf lund, and tho squatter, eage
to posses* land, but not suffered legally to possos
it, and not even to look forward to any calcnjabl
period during which he may acquire it, und bc
coming consequently a squatter from habit am
necessity, finds- himself, moreovor, tho object c
popular odium, the staple subject of distress«
spankers and editor», and the target of witlings
who praotiso their stniill artillery in the morning

papers.

But the squatter goes forth, and as ho canno
buy land he occupies it. Ho robs ho one-hi
trespasses not on nu aero c'aimed or in ad o uso o
by anothor. He duds-not without trouble nm
expense-ti tract till then useless to civilised mun
abandoned fi«m immemorial time, to sávngei
and kangaroos. He occupies this, and after years o
toil, s/litudu, discomfort, privation, penury, nut
dangers, he derivos t'ioni it at drat subsistent
and afterwards, in souao oases, profit. From tin
earliest moment of bis occupation he contribuid
to your trade, your revenues, your prosperity, noi
to speak of similar benefits through his- menin
indirectly conferred on objects moro remote, 'flu
funds out of whieh your cities uro to bo endowed
hy which your infant rnilwnys require to he Bel
working, your universities established, your go-
vernment expenditure provided for these lundi

derive no considerable addition from the laboui

of tho despised squatter, *

Dees it not strike you, that after having per-
mitted, nay forced such a man to occupy land foi
a length of time, uutil bo has beoome attached tc
«orno spot or other, wheroon pei haps lils children
have been boru, or have played about him, if you
take from him his home and r-xtirpnto tho pur
suits hy which ho lins honestly and indus-
triously earned his bread, without affording bini
compensation, you commit a priovous a inf cruel
injustice? .Don't tell mo that tho squatter
is not coinpfllfd to. tho lifo bo has chosen. Your
laws cumpo) him, sinco tho right to coenpy and
makoiisc of wastelands, which oolongs eventually
to every man, can hero be excrclsod in no other
way. Squatting, as I have lemnrksd above,
sopms inseparable from overy mode of colonisa-
tion, bnt hera, whore land,except in certain cases,
which do not affect tho general question, is not to
be bought, 1 cannot imagine bow colonisation is
to bo carried on without tho squatter. For tho
mero building of oven nourishing cities, on iso-
lated points of nu cxtensivocoast, the accumulation
of profits in tho hands of commercial adventurers,
hy tho oxohnngo of marketable commodities, mid
tue organisation and support of a largo nrmy of
cfiiciuls, da not ulane or altogether constitute co-
louration. Tbo essence of this oonsiBts in tho use
and improvement of tho land, and whatever claus
contributes most to render land productivo, has
the best right to the title of colonists, ns tho very
derivation of tho word explains to us. 'flint the
squatters- do not cultivate much, is beside' tho
question. They use the hind. - Their labour is
expended on their subsistence dori ved from the

coil.

Some vary astute politicians have discovered
that the squatters, by their occupation, rob pos-
terity. Some people aro so sensitivo about pos-
terity, that in my humble judgmont they benefit
poderity the most who do tlioir duty best in the
sphere to which Providence hos appointed them.
1 havo heard of prior possessions conforting a
light to land, but this plea of anticipated pos-
session is indeed a novelty, and proves too much
for the adversaries of the squnttors. For if in
consideration of tho olnlins ot posterity, you pro-
hibit tho occupation of tho land, you must ou
the sumo principia forbU its alienation on any
tonus whatever, sinoe it nevor cnn be proved that
posterity lins delegated its rights by power of
attorney to any living agent, und thc longor you
keep tho laud, tho moro valuable is it hkoly to
become. Thero uro roon whoso politicul views
extend no further than calculations ol' monetary
profit and los«, mid who ostimato tho advantages
or disadvantages of national Institutions solely by
their commercial value. Woe to tho pooplo that
elevates such men to stations of trust and uutho
' rity, that draws thom from their wharves anti

counting-houses for whieh alone they are suited,
to decorate them with the insignia of offico and
invest them with legislative dignity.

To minds such ns theirs aro wo indebted for tho
brilliant idea that tho profits of squatting aro eo
auch déduotod from tho publia culler?, towards
willoh they ought lo bo mado to yield o largo por
oentago in thc shapo of routs, ltcenso fees, ito.
And, doubtless, in similar paltry and: uustnles
tnanlika calculations ori'gicntod tho royalties on
the precious metal», and tno value sot hy narrow
minded Govornmonts ou the right to scoroh
for, and bring into circulation, sitoh commodities

Its gold and silver.

If you toko'tho land from tho squatters, what
on earth do you ptoposo doing with it ? Prohibit
occupation ? YVoro thia possiblo, what would
becomo 'of- your revenues and your com-
merce, whon thousands of labourers
would bo deprived of employment, and emigra-
tion would cease altogether, diverted to distant
and moro hospitable shores. Sell high I This
has been tried already ad nauseam. Low I Then
why not to tho squatter, who would give as high
« rrloe, and who knows tho volito of tho lund us
well ns any ono olso ? No notion onn bo more
erroneous than tho prevailing one, that tho sqat
iorji aro unwilling to becomo pttrclinsors of laud.
They oro only- unwilling to buy at exorbitant
Mles.. , Despair of over Beelng tho vitltio ol' wasto
hud justly estimated and properly understood,
las perhaps, mado thom too partial to their

present-, mode :of occupation, willoh is!
really tho least profitable for ¡ill patties that
could possibly bo duvhed. It has been proposed,
to select from limo lo limo certain portions of thu
jaito lauds whioh would bo put up lo salo nt n
fixed prico. Tho fixing of this prico would bo
found a realtor of moro didlcttlty flinn ls com-
monly imagined. But suppose tho land sold
under etiah,an arrangement, thoro would remain
«io question " what is to lo dono with tho largo
remainder unsold?" Wu havo seen that you
cannot "look lt up" not to speak ol' inconsistency,
«ml therefore you would still havo squatters,
and tho probability ls, that your sales would only
convert tho squatter into tho owner
oin email Irnot, carrying with it tho occupation
of a largo run which no body would buy ot your
nicd price. In fact tho truo tolutlau of tho
difficulty ls to bo found in tito alienation of tho
"..te lunds to thoir present occupiers at no moro
'ban thoy nro aotunlly worth, which some ol'your
Sydney politicians would perhaps ho surprised to
Bini, would bo vastly less 'than any flxod prloo

that hus boon o'er »urned or oven so muon os,

imagined by such «B bavé discussed this agita
question.- .Bell tba land at what it ia. rea
worth, allowing compensation for improvemeti
which, 1 repeat, is no moro thun bare juHlioe, t.
thousands of. squatters' speedily become free
holders. Yon ktbre at tho proposal to alienate
on a scale so extensive. Phantoms, of aristo
cracy, oligarchy, feudalism frighten .you from
your propriety. It is difficult to concoiva h
these poor isolated squatter*, scarcely aldo
control their handfuls of hired servants, stn
gllng amid tho desolation of nature with

inunuer of cures and difficulties, incnpublo of pc
tieal combinations, trampled on by rich mer
chants and rapacious governments-it is, to n
impossible to conceive how auoli a body of in
could bo deomcd capable of inflicting an oli
garchy upon any community, much less on

a community such us ours, where population
is so fluctuating, so formed of unstable e
ineuts, ns to ho absolutely incompressible intou
other than our present looso form of sociale
gunisation. I would remind you.sir, thatfeudnlii
was ns much it not moro dependent on u certu
dcusity of population than on oxtont of surfuc
What must have buen tho size of Juan Fernandez
to constitute Robison Crusoe au oligarch ? li
"it would bo lacking up tho lauds with a vong
ance, it would be ubsolutoly giving them away
And supposa them given awny, what great burn
Would you really bo giving so much mo
thau you would receive in tatum. Por if tl
present occupation by tho t quat ter is found to I
beneficial to the community, how infinitely mo
"beneficial would bo his occupation ns a lundloi
or owner of the soil i The great evil of squattii
is, tile uncertainty of its tenure. This alono h
repressed the expenditure of capital in penni
ncnt improvements, nud hat swaddled the infill
homo trade of tho wilderness. You brand tl
squatter as 'a bird of passage. His uneertni
occupation has principally laid him open to lb
infatuation. Tho indefinite power of Govert
ment hangs over him like an a vi
lancho. Tho voice of tho popular outer
shakes his foundation from below. Uncortai
» hon he may be compelled to iibmidoti his pui
suit, he draws wh.it he caa out of thu soil, will:
out improving it to any grent extent. For tb
famous, or if you please infamous, Waste Land's

Act, and tho Orders in Council havo made bu
little alteration in ' tho position of tho squnttei
They have excited against him the most virulent
popular odium, and tho most unfounded prejudice,
mt they have in reality conferred upon him n
legal rights which ho did not previously posses
hy occupation. With whatever intention thos
measures wcro originated they have in praulic
turned out thu merest moonshine, nud that fixity o
tenure, which kindles the rabid animosity of you
democratic agitators, is no more thun an elubo
rate imposition. Thu main result of this act a
Imperial generosity which has bcon so niuol
praised and blamed but so little understood ii
now seen to bo the extension ur the power of thc
executive which most people- think by no mean:
icquircd extending. I do not deny ih.it tin
equal ter has derivod from its provisions somi
slight benefit in the form of a very siendo:
guarantee against the future caprices of tho ill
informed, distaut, and nearly irresponsible au-
thority to whiob bois subject, but this benefit hui
in my _ opinion been fully balanced by
tho arbitrary powers gi anted by tlx
Act in question to her Miijesty'i
local representatives. It is, in short, a wretched
attempt to settle uti impracticable question by
tho Quasi omnipotence of legislation, which liai
ended not only by leaving malters far worse thai

they found them, but hus scattered upon tho soil
it disturbed fresh seeds of futuro mischief um!
interminable heal tlmrniugi.

Tho privileges of tho squatters ! Oh dear !
oh dear! Considering tho way in which these
privileges havo been commented on, in speeched
and in newspapers, havo been held up to thc
envy of all classes of socioty in Sydney, it really
is a thing worth woudoring ut tluit every out
of your citizons who can find means
should not rush into tho bush to avail

himself of them. Strange that your shop-keepers
should not eagerly embroco n business wlioro
no puffery seems uccussiiry to make a fortune,
and whore they would not bo necessitated to soli-
cit the custom of the men whom they afterwards
calumniate in tho newspapers-that your doctors
should not leave off quarrelling among themselves
and becomo mombors of society, whoro harmony
and good folio »ship goueral'y prevail-that your
lawyers should but tiru of a profession commonly
thought to be so dangerous le Integrity, at,d cunio
to roeruit their consciences in tho puru air of tho
interior-that even your inliabitanta should not
grow disgusted with their tedious accumulation
of nearly cont. | '.-r cont, profits, and exchange
thom for a prosperity proverbially so extrava-
gant. I must even be allowed to wonder, Sir,
that you, yoursolf, uro not tempted to quit those
intellectual labour», eftou ra ill-repaid und worfo
appreciated, and which fur aught 1 know may bo
undermining your constitution, and betake your-
self to a mode of life, to which fortunes ure
guaranteed by Act of Parliament. For our privi-
leges, I repeat, uro open and accessible tu all.
They aro lo bo found in tho wilderness under tho
infinito u zuro of Heaven. There, beyond
tho Inst ripple of this ceaseless wavo of mon,
thoro they bo ready and welcome to tho next
comer. Measureless tracts remain untenanted to
the Xorth and West, by tho occupation of a por-
tion cf which any ot your citizens might outer
upon oil tho privileges of a squatter. Hut how
lbw of those who envy and malign tis aro willing
to follow our example. Tho march of the squat-
tera is progressiva hut slow and intermitting.
Tho foot is, it requires men of peculiar stamp te
face the dangers and privations whloh havo prin-
cipally conferred valuó on the runs of tho squat-
ters. For many years altor occupation they uro
valueless, and their value has arisen out.of thoir
occupation. Ask any nuctioneor how much a
raw run is worth on tho extremo borders of loca-
tion. How consistent then willi reason and jus-
tice is the idea of rewarding enterprise with tho
advantages It has earned by its own exertions !

Yet yon still shrink from tho proposal of per-
petuating a pastoral occupation. You would havo
small farms, sweet rural landscapes, cottages,
and a wida surface of soil anrialtcd and beau t iliad
by agriculture Your democratic imagination is.
flied by tho prospoct of subdividing tho Iorgo
runs of tho so-called lordly squatters into tenr
nero allotments, lying neatly and snugly together
like thc squuros on a oboss boord. In your' zoal
for domooruoy and agriculture, you havo, perhaps,
forgotten to inquire whotbor thora oro nu
natural obstacles to tho arrangements that appear
to you so desirable hot mo tell you
thoro is a vory small portion of < this
colony whore agriculture could ho at all iu u
pecuniary senso profitable. Not that th ero is not
au nbundanoo ovorywhero ol' tho rlohcst soil.
Hut of this tho prolitublo cultivation Is forbidden
by tho incalculable caprices of our uncertain
climate Under an extensive system, of' immigra-
tion Australia might become tho granary of na-
tions. Without emigration sh o must over do
pond on foreign nations for supplies of grain.
And you will admit that wo cannot look forward
to emigration, till a vi ry remoto poriod. AB for
domooraoy, if, na now appears probable, ll«
future establishment is ordained by Providence,
I, for one, whethor I approvo of lt or no, um wil-
ling to accopt it, as I would accept doath,
ruin, or national degeneracy, under a Uko dis-

pensation.

I bogia to tr'einblo at tho length of my letter,
and nm not without fears that your pnticiioo is
exhausted, though tho subjeot ls Inf from hoing
io. I lutvo, therefore, uo nord to oxouso an
abrupt oudiiig, mid hastily bUbsai-luo wysolf,

Your obedient servant.

SYLVANUS.

Wido Bay District, August'20. _

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