would be superior in strength to one of eighteen inches made of the latter. The threads or filaments of this New Zealand plant are formed by nature with the most exquisite delicacy, and may be so minutely divided as to be manufactured into the finest linens.

Most of the Asiatic productions may also, without doubt, be cultivated in the new settlement, and in a few years may render our recourse to our European neighbours for those productions unnecessary.

It may also be proper to attend to the possibility of procuring from New Zealand any quantity of mast and ship timber for the use of our fleet in India, as the distance between the two countries is not greater than between Great Britain and America. It grows close to the water's edge, is of size and quality superior to any hitherto known, and may be obtained without difficulty.

STAFF ESTABLISHMENT FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW SOUTH
WALES
YEARLY SALARY

The Naval Commander appointed Governor or
Superintendent-General

The Commanding Officer of the Marines to be
appointed Lieutenant-Governor or Deputy
Superintendent

The Commissary of Stores and Provisions, for himself and assistants, to be appointed or named by the contractors for the provisions

£

S. d.

500

250

Pay of a Surgeon.

Pay of two mates

Chaplain

200

ESTIMATE OF CLOTHING TO SERVE A MALE CONVICT FOR ONE

The expense of clothing female convicts may be computed to amount to like sum.

(History of New South Wales, ed. cit., I, 432.)

227. Discovery of Gold

E. Hargraves

The discovery of gold in Australia marked an epoch in the history of that country. Thitherto the vast expanse of territory had been considered of value only for the purposes of stockraising; but under the new conditions resulting from the discovery of the precious metal the standing of the country was revolutionized. Crowds flocked to its shores, and cities rose as if by enchantment. The question of the actual discoverer of gold has never been determined, but Mr. Hargraves, whose account is given below, was the first to make the discovery known to the world, and so is fairly entitled to the honour of dis

coverer.

To the particulars of my own discovery I now proceed. I have already in a former chapter stated my reasons for believing in the existence of gold fields in New South Wales. It was with an anxious heart, therefore, that I again landed at Sydney, in the month of January, 1851. On my passage thither and immediately on my arrival, I made known to my friends and companions my confident expectations on the subject; one and all, however, derided me, and treated my views and opinions as those of a madman. Still undaunted, on the 5th of February I set out from Sydney on horseback alone to cross the Blue Mountains....

After resting one day at Guyong, on the 12th of February I started thence, accompanied by young Lister. Our course was down the Lewes Pond Creek, a tributary to the Summer Hill Creek, which again is a tributary of the Macquarie River. After traveling a distance of about fifteen miles, I found myself in the country that I was anxiously longing to behold again. My recollection of it had not deceived me. The resemblance of its formation to that of California could not be doubted or mistaken. I felt myself surrounded by gold; and with tremulous anxiety panted for the moment of trial, when my magician's wand should transform this trackless wilderness into a region of countless wealth.

Still one difficulty seemed to present itself. There had been an unusual drought during the summer, which was now drawing to a close, and the creek, where we then were, was completely dried up. My guide, however, in answer to my inquiries told me that we should find water lower down; so,

following its course, we soon fell in with some rocks which contained a sufficient supply.

We now turned out our horses, and seated ourselves on the turf, as it was necessary to satisfy the cravings of hunger before I ventured on my grand experiment. Had that failed, but little appetite for food would have been left me.

My guide went for water to drink, and, after making a hasty repast, I told him that we were now in the gold fields, and that the gold was under his feet as he went to fetch the water for our dinner. He started with incredulous amazement, and, on my telling him that I would now find some gold, watched my movements with the most intense interest. My own excitement, probably, was far more intense than his. I took the pick and scratched the gravel off a schistose dyke, which ran across the creek at right angles with its sides; and, with the trowel, I dug a panful of earth, which I washed in the water-hole. The first trial produced a little piece of gold. "Here it is!" I exclaimed; and I then washed five panfuls in succession, obtaining gold from all but one.

No further proof was necessary. To describe my feelings at that eventful moment would be impossible. What I said on the instant- though, I must admit, not warranted as the language of calm reflection—has been since much laughed

at.

And though my readers may renew the laugh, I shall not hesitate to repeat it, because, as it was the natural and impulsive impression of my overwrought feelings at the moment, so is it the only account I can now give of what those feelings were.

"This," I exclaimed to my guide, "is a memorable day in the history of New South Wales. I shall be a baronet, you will be knighted, and my old horse will be stuffed, put into a glass-case, and sent to the British Museum!"

At that instant I felt myself to be a great man. I was as mad, perhaps, at the moment, as Don Quixote was his life through; and assuredly, my companion was as simple as Sancho Panza for the good youth afterwards told me, he expected I should obtain for him the honour I had promised.

On our return that night to the inn at Guyong, I wrote a memorandum of the discovery, which I afterwards gave to the Colonial Secretary, as a memorial of the great event.

(Australia and its Gold Fields, ed. Hammond, Lond., 1855. p. 111.)

228. Results of the Finding of Gold

Contemporary Pamphlet

The following account of the consequences of the discovery of gold is of great interest. It is written with thought as well as care, and the evil as well as the good results likely to accrue are pointed out. The former were averted by the good sense of the Australians, although at one time it seemed as if the country would fall into a worse condition than that which existed when the colony was only a penal settlement.

The first results of the Australian gold discoveries are now displayed in a tangible, unmistakable shape - individual loss individual suffering, by the diversion of capital and labour. There may be many carried away by mere enthusiasm, who will rue the day they abandoned the certain easy employments of civilized life for the hard navigator-like trade of a gold-seeker; but the advantage of this new mineral discovery is unquestionable, in spite of all that croakers may say and sing.

Up to the middle of May, 1851, as heretofore shown, the colonial heart beat high with hope. Trade was good; the pastoral interests were flourishing; the country properties, as a matter of course, were improving; and the introduction of the alpaca, the extended culture of the vine, and the growth of cotton, appeared to present new and rich sources of wealth. At that moment came the discovery of the gold fields; and a shock was communicated to the whole industrial system, which to some people seemed to threaten almost annihilation. The idea was, that gold digging would swallow up all other pursuits, and the flocks perish in the wilderness from the want of shepherds. Nor was this altogether without foundation; for the stockholders have actually been considerable sufferers: all the industrial projects mentioned have been stopped short; and the gold-diggings still continue to attract to themselves, as if by a spell, the labour of the country. The panic, however, has now subsided. It is seen that the result is not so bad as was anticipated, and it is now rendered evident that the evil will go no further. A stream of population, it is thought, will be directed to Australia from abroad, and the labour not demanded by gold may suffice for other pursuits.

Already upwards of two millions sterling have been realised by the rude exertions of part of a population which has never yet exported more than three millions of raw produce; and with the evidence now before us, we may confidently

assert, that although there will be a temporary diminution in the exportation of Australian wool under new arrangements, the flocks of Australia will not be destroyed.

The Australian population have stood the test of gold wonderfully, and come out of the trial with honour. Their conduct, as a body, has been singularly orderly and submissive to the constituted authorities.

Two very healthy signs are displayed by the Australian diggers the multiplication of marriages and the large consumption of the best articles of female attire.

At Port Phillip it is impossible to retain a tidy servant girl. The first luxury to which the successful gold-seeker treats himself on his return for a holiday is a wife, and the wife is then treated to the best gowns and shawls that the shops afford. A friend writes that "the carpenters and smiths of Melbourne and Geelong will not let their wifes be seen in a gown of less cost than ten pounds, with a shawl and bonnet to match."

Whatever may be the taste of the workers from the Turon or Braidwood, Ballarat and Mount Alexander, it is certain that what they purchase they honestly pay for, and no one will suffer for their gains. The advantage, in a commercial point of view, is obvious. The man who was earning before £20 or £40 a year, of which, perhaps, he spent one-half in manufactures, can now afford to spend - and does spend — from £100 to £500 a year. The tales of wild extravagance are grossly exaggerated, and not at all to be depended upon. On the best authority, we can assert that the colonists are spending and investing their money in a very creditable manner. Among other proofs may be cited the circumstance of two thousand pounds received in gold-dust in less than seven weeks after his arrival at Port Phillip, by Captain Chisholm, from working men, to pay the passage of their relatives.

Now that so strong a stream of self-paid emigration is flowing, the sooner the Government free emigration is given up the better for the mother country and for the colonies. Many a man does not save as he could, to pay his own passage, because he hopes to win a prize in the Government lottery.

Education, and free, liberal education, is in truth the only thing required in Australia. Education, established and extended from the time the May Flower landed her Puritan freight on the bleak shores of New England, until the time