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CHAPTER IX.
1. Edward Gibbon Wakefield.—In
1829 a small book was published in London which attracted a great deal of
attention, not only by reason of its charming style and the liveliness of its
manner, but also on account of the complete originality of the ideas it
contained. It purported to be a letter written from Sydney, and described the
annoyances to be endured by a man of taste and fortune if he emigrated to Australia. He could have no intellectual society; he could not enjoy the
pleasures of his library or of his picture gallery; he could hope for none of
the delights of easy retirement, seeing that he had to go forth on his land,
and with his own hands labour for his daily food. For, said Mr. Wakefield, the
author of this little book, (A View of the Art of Colonization. With Present Reference to the British Empire. In Letters Between a Statesman and a Colonist) you cannot long have free servants in this country;
if a free man arrives in the colony, though he may for a short time work for
you as a servant, yet he is sure to save a little money, and as land is here so
excessively cheap, he soon becomes a landed proprietor. He settles down on his
farm, and, though he may have a year or two of heavy toil, yet he is almost
certain to become both happy and prosperous. Thus, the colony is an excellent
place for a poor man, but it is a wretched abode for a man of means and of
culture. Wakefield therefore proposed to found in Australia another colony,
which should be better adapted to those who had fortunes sufficient to maintain
them and yet desired to emigrate to a new country. His
scheme for effecting this purpose was to charge a high
price for the land, and so to prevent the poorer people from purchasing it; the
money received from the sale of land he proposed to employ in bringing out
young men and women, as servants and farm labourers, for the service of the
wealthier colonists. Now, said Wakefield, on account of the immense natural
resources of these colonies, their splendid soil, their magnificent pasture
lands, their vast wealth in minerals, and their widespread forests of valuable
timber, which stand ready for the axe, a gentleman possessed of only £20,000
will obtain as large an income from it as could be procured from £100,000 in
England; yet he will be able to enjoy his learned and cultured leisure, just as
he does at home, because all the work will be done for him by the servants he
employs. For three or four years this agreeable fallacy made quite a stir in
England: famous authors, distinguished soldiers, learned bishops were deceived
by it; noblemen, members of Parliament, bankers and merchants, all combined to
applaud this novel and excellent idea of Mr. Wakefield.
2. South Australian Association.—in 1831 the first effort was made to
give a practical turn to these theories, and the southern shores of Australia
were selected as a suitable locality for the proposed colony. A company was
formed; but when it applied to the British Government for a charter, which
would have conceded the complete sovereignty of the whole southern region of
Australia, Lord Goderich, the Secretary of State, replied that it was asking a
great deal too much, and abruptly closed the negotiation. Two years later the
South Australian Association was formed, and as this company asked for nothing
beyond the power to sell waste lands and apply the proceeds to assist
immigration, the British Government gave its consent, and an Act was passed by
the Imperial Parliament to give the association full power to found a colony.
This Act directed that commissioners should be appointed to frame laws for the
colony, to establish courts, and to nominate its officers; land was to be
thrown open for sale at not less than twelve shillings an acre, and even this
comparatively high price was to be raised, after a short time, to £1 per acre,
in order to keep the land in the hands of the wealthy. It was expressly stated
that no convict would be allowed to land in the new settlement, which, it was
hoped, would become in every respect a model community. The British Government
declined to incur any expense in establishing or in maintaining the colony, which
was to be purely self-supporting. Eleven commissioners were appointed, of whom
Colonel Torrens was chairman in England, and Mr. Fisher the representative in
Australia, where he was to take charge of the sale of lands and supervise the
affairs of the colony. At the same time, Captain Hindmarsh was appointed
Governor, and Colonel Light was sent out to survey the waste lands preparatory
to their being offered for sale.
3. Adelaide.—The first emigrants to
South Australia landed on Kangaroo Island, of which Flinders had given a most
attractive account; but though the place was beautifully wooded, and of the
most picturesque aspect, it was found to be in many respects unsuitable for the
foundation of a city; and when Colonel Light shortly afterwards arrived with
his staff of surveyors, he at once decided to remove the settlement to St.
Vincent’s Gulf. Here, about six miles from the shores of the gulf, he selected
a broad plain between the sea and the pleasant hills of the Mount Lofty Range;
and on the bank of a small stream, which he called the Torrens, he marked out
the lines of the infant city. Queen Adelaide was the wife of the reigning King
of England, and, as she was exceedingly popular, the colonists, with
enthusiasm, adopted her name for their capital. A harbour was found seven miles
distant from the city, and on it a town was established, to which the name Port
Adelaide was given.
4. Governor Hindmarsh.—In December, 1836, Governor Hindmarsh landed, and beneath a spreading
gum tree near the beach he read his commission to a small audience of emigrants
and officials; but when he proceeded to examine what had been done, he was
filled with disgust and indignation. The only landing-place for vessels was in
the midst of a mangrove swamp at the mouth of a muddy little creek; and all
goods would have to be carried six or seven miles inland to the city. To a
sailor’s eye, it seemed the most reckless folly to make so unusual a choice,
and he at once determined to remove the settlement to Encounter Bay; but
neither Colonel Light nor Mr. Fisher would permit any change to be made, and a
violent quarrel took place. As resident commissioner, Mr. Fisher had powers
equal to those of the Governor, and was thus enabled to prolong the contest. Of
the settlers, some sided with the Governor; others gave their support to the
commissioner, and the colony was quickly divided into two noisy factions. After
fourteen months of constant wrangling, the English Government interfered. Mr.
Fisher was dismissed and Governor Hindmarsh recalled, while the offices of both
were conferred on Colonel Gawler, who arrived in the colony during the year
1838.
5. Early Failures.—The Wakefield system
could not possibly realise the hopeful anticipations which had been formed of
it; for the foundation of a new colony and the reclaiming of the lonely forest
wilds are not to be accomplished by merely looking on at the exertions of hired
servants. Ladies and gentlemen who had, in England, paid for land they had
never seen, were, on their arrival, greatly disgusted at the sight of the toils
before them. They had to pull their luggage through the dismal swamp, for there
were neither porters nor cabs in waiting; they had to settle down in canvas
tents, on a grassy plain, which was called a city, but where a few painted
boards here and there, fastened to the trunks of gum trees, were the only
indications of streets. Then, when they went out to see their estates, and
beheld great stretches of rude and unpromising wilderness—when they considered
how many years must pass away before there could possibly arise the terraces
and gardens, the orchards and grassy lawns, which make an English country-house
delightful—their courage failed them, and, instead of going forth upon the
land, they clustered together in Adelaide. Every one wished to settle down in
the city, and as it was expected that, with the growth of population, the value
of town allotments would rapidly increase, the idea became prevalent that to
buy land in the city and keep it for sale in future years would be a profitable
investment. But there were so many who entertained the same astute design that,
when they all came to put it in practice, there was little gain to any one; and
the only result was that Adelaide was turned into a scene of reckless speculation
and gambling in land.
6. Governor Gawler.—Meantime poorer emigrants were arriving in expectation of obtaining employment from
their wealthier predecessors, who had been able to pay the high price demanded
for land. They found that those whom they expected to be their employers had
abandoned the idea of going out into the country to cultivate the soil. There
was, therefore, nothing for them to do; they had no money with which to speculate
in town allotments, they had no land on which to commence farming for
themselves, and they were in a wretched plight. Provisions had rapidly
increased in price, so that flour rose from £20 to £80 per ton; no food was
being produced from the land, and nothing whatever was
being done to develop the resources of the colony, whilst the money which the
settlers had brought with them was rapidly being spent in importing shiploads
of provisions from other countries.
In order to give employment to those of the settlers who were really
destitute, Governor Gawler commenced a series of Government works. He
constructed a good road between Adelaide and its port. He formed wharves, and
reclaimed the unwholesome swamp; he built a Custom House, with warehouses and
many other costly buildings, the Government House alone costing £20,000. Now,
these were all in themselves very desirable things; but it was difficult to see
how they were to be paid for. Colonel Gawler spent nearly the whole of his own
private fortune in paying the wages of the unfortunate persons he employed, but
that could not long support so great a concourse of people. He persuaded
merchants in England to send out provisions and clothing for the famished
people; but the only means he had of paying for these goods was by drafts on
the British Treasury, which were accepted at first as equivalent to money, for
it was believed that, whenever they were presented in London, payment would
immediately be made by the British Government. But this was a serious mistake:
though the first series of drafts were paid readily enough, yet when the
authorities in England found that others, for larger and larger amounts,
continued to pour in, they refused to pay, and reminded the colony that, by the
terms of its charter, it was to be entirely self-supporting. A series of
drafts, to the amount of £69,000, were therefore dishonoured; and the
merchants, finding the drafts to be worth no more than so much paper, demanded
their money from the Governor; but he had nothing with which to pay, and the
colony had to be declared insolvent, having debts to the amount of about
£400,000 which it could not meet.
7. The Collapse.—Matters were now in a
very gloomy condition. Most of the colonists became anxious to return to
England, and therefore sought to sell their land. But when nearly all wished to
sell, and scarcely any wished to buy, the price went down to a trifle, and men
who had invested fortunes in town allotments, realised no more than enough to
pay their passage home. In the meantime the English merchants declined to send
out any further supplies, and those who had not the means of leaving Adelaide
seemed in great danger of starving. But as land could now be bought very
cheaply, many industrious people of the poorer class settled down to clear the
country for farming. This was what should have been done at the very beginning;
for no colony can be prosperous, or look for anything but bankruptcy, until it
commences to produce grain, or wool, or minerals, or some other commodity with
which it can purchase from other lands the goods which they produce. The lands
of South Australia are admirably adapted for the growth of wheat; and, after a
time, success attended the efforts of the farmers, who thus laid the
foundations of future prosperity.
Proclamation Tree, Glenelg.
(The colony of S. Australia proclaimed a British dependency,
28th December, 1836.)
Another industry was also added about this time. The young squatters of
New South Wales, attracted by the high prices given for sheep in the early days
of Adelaide, had been daring enough, in spite of the blacks and of the toilsome
journey, to drive their flocks overland; and the new-comers soon gave quite a
wool-growing tone to the community. These “overlanders,” as they were called,
affected a bandit style of dress; in their scarlet shirts and broad-brimmed
hats, their belts filled with pistols, and their horses gaily caparisoned, they
caused a sensation in the streets in Adelaide, which rang all evening with
their merriment and dissipation. But as they brought about fifty thousand sheep
into the colony during the course of only a year or so, they were of essential
benefit to it. Many of them settled down and taught the new arrivals how to
manage flocks and prepare the wool, and thus they assisted in raising Adelaide
from the state of despondency and distress into which it had sunk.
8. Recall of Governor Gawler.—The British Government eventually decided to lend the colony a sufficient sum of money to pay its debts; but it was resolved to make certain changes. The eleven commissioners were abolished, Captain George Grey, a young officer, was appointed Governor; and one day in May, 1841, he walked into the Government House at Adelaide, presented his commission to Governor Gawler, and at once took the control of affairs into his own hands. This summary mode of dismissing Governor Gawler must now be regarded as somewhat harsh; for he had laboured hard and spent his money freely in trying to benefit the colony, and the mistakes which were made during his administration were not so much due to his incapacity as to the impracticable nature of the theory on which the colony had been founded. In 1841 he sailed for England, deeply regretted by many who had experienced his kindness and generosity in their time of trouble. South Australians and their environment (1921) Admiral Phillip; the founding of New South Wales (1899). PROPOSAL TO HIS MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT FOR FOUNDING A COLONY ON THE SOUTHERN COAST OF AUSTRALIA (1831). August 3rd, 1831 At a Meeting hdd this day at the Chambers of William Tooke, Esq. 89, Bedford-row, COLONEL TORBENS, M.P. in the Chair, It was resolved Thst this Propotsl as prepared by the Sub-Commttee be approved. That the Committee be requested to print such Proposal for the purpose of circulation, with a view to obtain the sanction of influential individuals preparatory to the Plan being submitted to His Mayesty's Government. That these preliminary measures be adopted on the clear understanding that any expressed sanction of the proposed measure shall be considered one only of general approval, and shall not involve the Committee or any other party in any liability or obligation for further exertion. That so soon as a sufficient number of names is obtained, a Deputation from this Committee shall confer with the Colonial Office on the subject, after which a Meeting shall be convened for the purpose of making definitive arrangements.
Communicatinos from persons desirous to promote the objects of this Proposal, to be addressed to William Tooke, Esq. 39, Bedford Row, where Charts of the situation may be seen.
PROPOSAL, The Committee of a Society established for the purpose of founding a Colony on the Southern Coast of Australia, in a spot now absolutely desert and removed from any settlement, have the honour to submit to Viscount Goderich, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, the following Proposal, in which they have defined the mode of Colonization and the system of Taxation and Government, the establishment of which constitutes their object in the undertaking. It is incumbent on them to declare in the outset, that what they request of His Majesty's Government is limited to its sanction of their enterprize; the very essence of their scheme being to promote colonization without cost or burden to the mother country; and they are led to hope that the mere sanction of Government, of which they stand in need, will be readily accorded to them, in consideration of the advantages which the mother country would derive from a mode of colonization eminently calculated to relieve the over-stocked market of British labour. MODE OF COLONIZATION. The basis of colonization being waste land liable to be appropriated by emigrants at firsts and afterwards by emigrants and the increasing population of the colony, it is plain that the progress of colonization must, in a great measure, depend upon the mode in which the Home Government at first, and the Colonial Government afterwards, shall dispose of such land. On this account the promoters of this undertaking have framed a set of Regulations for the disposal of waste land according to an uniform system, having for object, the prevention of the numerous evils which have arisen in all modern colonies, from the infinite variety of modes in which the basis of colonization has been treated. After patient investigation they have arrived at the conclusion that for the greatest progress of colonization, the leading principles which ought to be adopted in the disposal of waste land are the following ; 1. That every one able and willing to cultivate any portion of land, at the disposal of Government, should be allowed to appropriate the same without any condition or burden whatsoever. 2. That no one, either unwilling or unable to cultivate waste land, should be allowed to appro- priate the same under any pretext whatsoever. In order to give effect to these two principles it is only necessary to provide that the immigration of labourers shall correspond with the appropriation of waste land according to a measure which should, as to every grants occasion a supply of labour neither more nor less than sufficient for performing the obligation incurred by the appropriation of land, viz. the obligation to cultivate. All waste therefore, it is proposed, should be given away, but in such a manner, that the act of appropriation shall fulfil the obligation incurred by it. For this purpose the following Regulations for the DISPOSAL OF WASTE land are proposed. 1. That an estimate be made of the number of hands required to cultivate a given extent of waste land in the most profitable manner, and a further estimate of the cost to be incurred for the passage of the number of immigrant labourers required to cultivate such an extent of land. 2. That every one shall be at liberty to appropriate any extent of waste land, and in such situation as he may prefer upon payment to the colonial government of the sum requisite to pay for the passage of the number of labourers necessary to cultivate the land appropriated. 3. That the whole produce of sales of land (with the exception stated below,) shall be em- ployed in procuring from the overstocked market of Britain, the greatest amount of labour; so that the money apparently paid for land shall really be paid for labous only. 4. That in order to render the cost of immigration as low as possible, and to give to him who purchases labour by the appropriation of land the greatest possible return for his money, the immigrants brought to the colony shall consist entirely of young married or marriageable persons of both sexes in equal proportions. Amongst the other advantages contingent on adherence to this system, will be a prevention of the necessity of introducing convict labour in the colony. 5. That the only exception to so disposing of the funds obtained by the sale of land, shall be the payment out of that fund of the expence of indispensable surveys. 6. That the sales of land shall be conducted in the following manner : — First — That a considerable extent of waste land beyond that already appropriated, shall at all times be surveyed in advance, and divided into lots of not less than 80 acres each, maps of the same being constantly open to inspection in the public surveyor's office. Second — That persons desirous to purchase labour by the appropriation of land, shall apply in writing for any lot or lots, and public notice of four clear weeks from the date of the application being given, the lot or lots shall be put up to auction at the minimum price (see Regulations 10 and 11) ; that the highest bidder shall be declared the purchaser; but if there be no higher bidding than the upset price, then the original applicant shall be entitled to the lot or lots. 7. That the fund obtained by the sales of waste land, after paying the expence of surveys, be placed at the disposal of His Majesty's Government, but with this distinct obligation on their part, viz. that the whole of what they so receive, shall be expended in the manner stated in Articles 3 and 4. 8. That not a single acre of land shall be granted, except upon the terms specified above, and that there shall be no Government reserves of land for any purpose whatsoever; but if the Go- vernment should want land for any purpose, it shall purchase the same in like manner with individuals, and the purchase money shall be employed as in other cases ; so that there may be no departure from the uniform and impartial system by which every appropriation of land must be accompanied by a corresponding increase of the supply of labour and of the colonial population. This is not meant to prevent any colonist from pasturing his cattle on any land so long as it shall remain unapropriated. 9. That whatever may be the price for land determined, as that which would ensure the due cultivation of all land granted, a lower price shall be required during the early years of the settlement; the object of such distinction being to hold out to capitalists a motive for advancing the funds for founding the first settlement. 10. That the minimum price of land shall for the first year be 5s. per acre. 11. That after the expiration of the first year the minimum price of land shall be raised to 7s. 6d. per acre, and subsequently by such steps as may be found convenient, until the price de- manded for land shall be that which will ensure the cultivation of all land granted. PLAN FOR FOUNDING THE COLONY. For the purpose of founding the colony it. is proposed to form a Company in London under the following general regulations. 1. That the capital of the Company consist of £500,000. to be divided into shares of £50. each. 2. That one fourth of the sum raised by the Company be applicable to the payment to Majesty's Govemment for land, subject to sach purchase money being expended as by Regula- tions 3 and 4. 3. That another fourth of the sum raised by the Company be resened for advances to small capitalists who may be disposed to settle in the colony, either on the Company's land or on land purchased of the Government. 4. That the remainder, being half of the capital of the Company (with the reserve only of ex- pences of management) be appropriated to the object of adding value to the Company's land by the employment thereon of the labourers sent out with the first named portion of the Company's capital in the construction of roads, bridges, &c.
The object of this undertaking being to establish a system which should produce the most rapid progress of colonization wherever adopted, and, if generally adopted, should confer the greatest benefit on the mother country, it is necessary to provide that the investment of capital in founding the colony should prove a profitable speculation to those who may advance the necessary funds. With this especial view therefore, the proposed mode of employing the capital of the Company has been devised. The profits of the Company will be derived from one source only ; viz. the rent and resale of land purchased from Government. As the Company will be the first applicants for land, they will have the first choice of situation; and will of course select their grants on spots of superior natural value, and especially, a large portion of it, on the spot chosen for a port and for the seat of Government. Considering that in thinly peopled countries, the superior value of land is de- termined in but a slight measure by natural fertility, and almost entirely by the degree of vicinity to the means of obtaining labour and manure, and to markets, it becomes plain that the land of the Company would soon be fistr more valuable than any other lot of land of similar extent in the colony, even if the Company should not expend capital in improving their land; but as it is further proposed to expend one half of the Company's capital not In cultivating their land, but in rendering it by means of roads, docks and buildings, the seat of Government and the centre of commerce, the first choice and a judicious outlay of capital will combine to render the land of the Company peculiarly valuable. It should be remembered here, that in new colonies up to the present time, a great scarcity or absolute want of labourers has prevented capitalists even from cultivating their land properly, and much more from bestowing upon it those artificial advantages which, especially in thinly peopled countries, constitute superior value; whereas in the present case, the money with which the capitalist obtains land will be immediately converted into labour — and also into people, by whose number in proportion to land, the competition for valuable land must be determined, and the proof of value given by facility of selling at an enhanced price. Besides the advantage, however, of first choice, and the means of turning that first choice to the best account, another great advantage would be enjoyed by the Company, viz. the increase of the Government price of waste land (as by Regulation 11) after one year from the date of the first settlement; so that, at the very leasts and after but a very short time, it is clear, the whole of the land of the Company would obtain an increase of value equal to the difference between the Government price of waste land in the first year, and after the first year of the settlement. One consideration in respect to this scheme, will occur to every one accustomed to the economy of an old and thickly peopled country ; namely, whether the inhabitants of the proposed colony will be able from the outset, to produce exchangeable commodities, so as to be able to carry on a trade with other countries, providing a market of exchange, whereby the produce of the colony shall be readily converted into money, or the medium of exchange wherewith to pay for fresh land, and for the immigration of fresh labourers. Upon this point it is proper to offer a few remarks. No modern colony where slavery did not exists has been able to produce exchangeable commodities to any great extent ; but whenever slavery was established in any modem colony, exchangeable commodities have been immediately produced, and the colonists have become suddenly wealthy. Virginia is a good example. That colony did not produce exchangeable commodities, indeed it did not produce food sufficient for the people, during the first forty years of its existence ; but at the end of forty years a Dutch ship loaded with slaves reached the colony, when the Slave Trade was introduced, and from that moment the settlers of Virginia were enabled to produce tobacco, and became the wealthiest of the settlers on the coast of America. Now, why did the introduction of slaves enable the Virginians to produce exchangeable commodities ? Because with slaves it was possible to have combination of labour ; that is to say, the capitalist was able to employ a great number of labourers in the same field, at the same work, and for a considerable period of time ; a mode of employing labour quite impossible in colonies where land was obtainable for nothing, and where there were no slaves, and the only mode in which it is possible to produce tobacco, sugar and most other exchangeable commodities. Now, the main feature of the proposed undertaking is, that, without resorting to the hateful system of slavery, there should in consequence of the immigration of voluntary labour always be an ample supply of hands in proportion to the land cultivated, so that at all times it will be possible to employ many hands in one field at the same time, in the same work, and for a considerable period of time together, and thereby easily to produce exchangeable commodities. It has been asked with reference to the proposed colony, what is the value of the commodities exported from New South Wales? The question is asked with a view of conjecturing by analogy what will be the value of the exportable produce of the intended colony. Any answer to the question would mislead ; because the intended colony will have combination of capital and labour, and will be able to produce commodities, which the people of New South Wales have never been able to produce, because, in consequence of their dispersion, they could not use combination of labour and capital. The question ought to be, What is the value of commodities produceable on such a soil, and under such a climate as those of the New Colony which form, not the exports only but some of the imports of colonies in that neighbourhood? The proposed colony, in consequence of its enjoying combination of capital and labour, will be able to produce commodities such as the dispersed inhabitants of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land have hitherto been obliged to import, and therefore, it is clear they will be able to produce commodities exchangeable with those settlements, with India, South America, and China. This is the answer to the question. — The proposed colony, in consequence of the combination of capital and labour provided for by an ample supply of labour, will be able to produce exchangeable commodities. On the whole, the projectors of this Company feel confident that che capital advanced by it for founding the settlement will soon be returned with large profits; and this they repeat, will be with them a leading consideration, because if they should succeed in showing that a portion of the capital of the mother country for which there is no profitable employment at home, may be most profitably employed in colonization, there can be no doubt that much British capital will be so employed, leaving the country only for a time, and returning with increase, but carrying with it a corresponding amount of surplus labour. GOVERNMENT. In the following outline of a plan of Government for the proposed colony, it is provided that as soon as possible the colonists shall defray the whole cost of their own Government. From two features of the proposed mode of colonizing it may be inferred, that the colonists will be able to do this at an earlier period than in the case of any other colony, by means of the much more rapid influx of people, and the much greater production by a given number of hands arising from the combination of capital and labour. But for a short while it will be impossible to raise any taxes in the new settlement. Nevertheless, the undersigned do not call on His Majesty's Government for any contribution, even, towards the cost of governing the settlement. On the contrary, they propose that the cost of governig the settlement during the short period, when it will be imposible to raise taxes for that purpose, shall be wholly defrayed by the Company; upon this understanding, that the expense shall not exceed a certain stipulated amount per annum, and that the Company shall have a claim on the colony for repayment of the whole sum so expended. It is proposed that the sums required for this purpose be drawn from that half of the Company's capital, which is to be set apart for adding value to their land: and indeed the proposed outlay for Government may be strictly considered as employed in adding value to the Company's land, since Government is indispensable to society, and a cheap government, such as the Company must establish, will be a temptation to many persons to place themselves under it. It is proposed that the ultimate repayment of the Company's outlay for Government, shall be provided for in the Charter, by which His Majesty may sanction the establishment of the colony. The following outline of a plan of Government has been drawn up with a deep conviction that the success of the proposed undertaking, as well in its character of a mercantile speculation as in that of a scheme of Emigration for relieving the mother country of her surplus population, is depending on and will be proportional to the success of the colonists : — that the greater the prosperity of the colony and the more rapid its progress, the more profitable will be the investment of the shareholders,and the sooner, and more completely will the colony find employment for our sorplus population. The objects which have therefore been kept in view in forming a plan of Government to be proposed for the colony; and which the Company purposes steadily to pursue in carrying that plan into execution and supplying its details are; Firstly, To prevent the progress of the colony from being impeded by any shackles on its agriculture or trade, or by any of the errors in Government which the experience of other colonies has discovered. And secondly, to employ the powers of Government as a great engine for promoting the prosperity of the colonists. To lay the foundation of a colony which like the one now proposed rests its hopes of success chiefly on the strict adherence to certain principles which have not hitherto been applied with the requisite degree of steadiness and in combination, it is of great importance and indeed absolutely necessary that the Government of the colony during its infancy should be in the hands of persons who fully comprehend those principles and will zealously and firmly persevere in their application, with such modifications as an enlightened experience may suggest, until they are either crowned with, or proved incapable of, success. On this ground and in consideration of the advance proposed to be made by the Company of the whole expense of Government during this period, it is proposed that until the male adult population of the colony shall amount to 10,000, supreme power shall be lodged in the hands of a Governor to be commisioned by His Majesty on the nomination of the Company and removable by it : subject to his Majesty's veto on every nominatiion. To prevent those evils which have been so severely felt in many colonies from the establishment of a colonial council, it is further proposed that during the same period the whole responsibility of Government shall be concentrated in the Governor, whose power will therefore be undivided. A colonial council, however constituted, not merely divides responsibility but almost annihilates it as far as each individual is concerned, by rendering it uncertain in almost every instance whether a measure has been carried in consequence of, or in opposition to, his wishes : and if selected by the Governor from among the colonists themselves either establishes a pernicious system of fovoritism or subjects the Governor to unjust suspicions, which are equally efficient causes of distrust, jealousies and discontent. In the present instance too the course proposed is farther recommended by its necesity to secure the application of the principles which are relied on to ensure the success of the colony and prevent those obstructiions which would otherwise arise out of the prejudices or immature notions that might happen to be entertained by the few persons to whom the Governor's choice would necessarily be limited in the infancy of the colony. The whole power and responsibility of Government being vested, according to this plan, in the Governor it is farther proposed as follows. 1. That a set of regulations free from unnecessary technicalities and vicious subtleties and adapted to the transactions and comprehension of a population consisting principally of labourers and farmers transplanted into a new colony, shall be prepared by the Company for the use of the colony, and printed for distribution among the colonists. 2. That with the exception of a few of these regulations to be expresly designated, such as those framed to secure the liberty of the press, and those that regulate the descent of property, which will be unchangeable by the Governor, his power of legislation shall be unlimited in extent, and fettered only by the necessity of sufficient promulgation. 3. That these regulations shall be administered by Magistrates, or Justices, to be chosen from time to time by the inhabitants of the districts over which they are respectively to have juris- diction. With an appeal under certain restrictions to the Governor himself, or to a substitute to be appointed by him for that purpose. 4. That the trade of the colony shall be perfectly free; the Colonists having the privilege of selling their produce and buying their suppliies wherever they may think proper. 5. That the defence of the colony shall be provided for by a militia to be composed of the whole male population of the colony above the age of 16, and under 60. 6. That so soon as the male adult popolation of the colony shall amount to 10,000, to be determined by a census to be taken annually, measures shall be taken for the establishment of the Permanent Government, which shall consist of a Legislatiye Assembly to be elected annually by the male adult population under the best securities for independence of choice, and of a Governor to be appointed by the crown who shall have the power of suspending the execution of any new law passed by the Assembly and referring it to His Majesty whose veto will be absolute. 7. That the legislative power possessed by the Governor during the existence of the Provi- sional Government shall cease and vest in the ligislative Assembly immediately it meets. 8. That all the other institutions then established shall remain in full force, until they shall have been altered or abolished by the Legislative Assembly. 9. That the Company's liability to provide for the expenses of Government shall cease at the expiration of twelve months from the first meeting of the Assembly, when the nomination of the Governor shall revert to the Crown and the future expenses of Government be defrayed by the colony.
The Committee feeling that the general dissemination of knowledge will greatly accelerate the progress of the colony, on which the success of the Company depends, farther propose that the Company should during the existence of the Provisional Government provide a sufficient number of teachers not merely to instruct the infant and adult inhabitants to read and write, but to spread among them, as far as possible, knowledge which will be useful in their new state, such as information respecting the species and modes of cultivation suited to the condition, soil and climate of the colony; and the various arts capable of affording them assistance in procuring and preparing food, shelter and clothing. To these might be added some knowledge of the general principles which determine the success or failure of different branches of trade and commerce, and such a foundation of moral, political, and general knowledge, as shall fit the colonists for the exercise of their political rights, when the period arrives for the establishment of the Permanent Government. To assist in promoting this object it is proposed, that the Company should furnish the colony with a Circulating Library, selected with these views. The Company being altogether of a commercial nature, will abstain from all interference with the religious sentiments of the colonists, or with any arrangements which they may think proper to establish for instruction according to their respective opinions.
CHAPTER X.
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