of one of these channels is seventy-two feet, of the other ninety feet, and the minimum depth of the passage for ships through both harbours, is thirty-six feet, and extends nearly to the shore, on which the first settlement has been made.'

From the latest accounts which have been received of the proceedings of this company, it would appear that their concerns are going on as prosperously as could be desired. At no great distance from the settlement, and in addition to their original million acres, they have obtained from the government a grant of five hundred acres of the coal-fields of Newcastle, which, by means of steam-engines and proper colliers from England, already arrived there, they are about to work in a systematic manner, and from which they expect to be enabled to serve not only Sydney but the whole colony, with coals at a cheap rate. Sydney alone, it is calculated, will require an annual supply of 12,000 chaldrons, and the masters of vessels proceeding to India, Batavia, the Cape, &c. who cannot at present be supplied, from the inefficient state of the workings, will be glad to take coals, not only for their own use, but on the speculation of a market for such cargoes. The establishment of steam boats, we have little doubt, will next take place; and these will be of infinite importance in the navigation of the smooth water within the reefs, along the extensive eastern coast both to the northward and southward, at such times as the periodical winds are adverse to sailing vessels.

Mr. Dawson's account of this part of the country is very encouraging to the hopes of the settlers :

The country around Port Stephens is of a different character from the districts previously settled. It is chiefly hilly, and sometimes mountainous. There are few parts of England more beautiful to the eye. On the banks of the river Karner (natives' name) which empties itself into Port Stephen's harbour, it is not much unlike, nor much inferior in point of beauty, to the banks of the Wye. The hills in the distance, and on the banks, are less elevated than those of the Wye, but the scenery is equally varied and rich, as seen from some of the reaches of the river. The harbour, too, is a very fine and safe one, and abounds with every production of nature that can make its shores a desirable residence. Fish of all kinds known in the colony, oysters both rock and mud, in the greatest abundance, as well as lobsters and turtle, are found there. In my public letter I have stated my reasons for having determined to fix the establishment at this place, where every advantage we could have asked for appears to have been united for our first essay. The hills appear to be well adapted for sheep; enough of ground can always be found, on or near the navigable rivers and creeks running into the harbour, for cultivation, should we ultimately want more than the shores of the port can produce.'-(Private Journal.)

It appears that the importation of fine wool from New South Wales has already had the effect of lowering the prices of the usual supplies of fine wool for the English market-to such a degree indeed, that it is confidently stated the prices lately obtained will not afford a remunerating profit to the growers, under the expensive artificial treatment to which, in a climate like that of Germany, they are compelled to resort, in order to produce a staple of the requisite delicacy. It is stated in the last report of the directors of the Australian Agricultural Company,' that, with regard to fine wool intended for the markets of Great Britain, it will be found that the average expenses of carriage from the farms in the interior of Germany, including freight from the ports of shipment and import duty here, are, in amount, equal to the costs of freight incurred by the longer voyage from New South Wales, and the other charges of conveyance from the occupied pastures of that country, situated generally within a moderate distance of the sea-coast.' And if this statement be literally and exactly correct, the wool-growers of Germany must unquestionably find themselves, in the long run, utterly unable to compete with these thriving colonists.

As to the attempts which the Australians have been making in manufactures, we cannot expect much progress, for some time to come, in that department; a great deal more, however, than the North Americans accomplished in thrice the time, has already been achieved. Their manufactures, as yet, consist chiefly of articles of the first necessity, such as are in daily and universal use. Coarse and second cloths, from their own wool, are manufactured at Botany Bay, but at a dearer rate than similar articles imported from England; these cloths, however, are represented to be stronger, and perhaps, therefore, cheaper in the end, than those with which they have to compete. Coarse woollens are made by the women confined at Paramatta, who likewise weave twills made of New Zealand flax. Many of the settlers tan their own leather, make their own shoes, and manufacture soap for their own consumption. In Sydney they manufacture hats, beavered with the fur of the flying squirrel, which are said to look well and to wear well, except that they become soft, and lose their shape in moist weather. Here also are carried on for sale, soap-making, tin-ware, workings in brass and iron, saddlery, harness and whip making, boot, shoe, and straw-hat making; all kinds of common pottery-ware, large jars and tubs for salting meat in, wine and water coolers, and spruce-beer bottles, are manufactured in sufficient abundance for the wants of the whole colony, and sold cheap. Carts, drays, ploughs, harrows, and other instruments of husbandry, are made of good and strong materials

terials, and are sold at English prices; and colonial coasting vessels and boats are built of gum-timber, which is stated to be as durable, and every way as fit for ship-building, as Indian teak.

The progressive improvement and civilisation of the colony may further be inferred from the state of society in Sydney, where, according to our author, private carriages are kept, and few individuals, if any, who pretend to what in the slang tongue is called respectability, are without their gigs or riding-horses. Every town has its post-office, and a regular system of post-horses is established for the conveyance of letters. A four-horse stage-coach runs twice a-day, and a caravan once, between Sydney and Paramatta, and another coach thrice a-week to Liverpool, while a third proceeds from Paramatta to Windsor three times a-week also-no mean proofs of the general wealth and prosperity which this infant colony has attained. Nor while comfort and convenience are thus studied, is the improvement of the mind by any means neglected. 'A great variety of respectable schools throughout the colony further the purposes of education; the most celebrated being the Sydney Free Grammar School under the able management of Dr. Halloran; the Caledonian Academy, founded upon the principles of the Scotch schools, under the management of the Rev. Mr. Lang, the Presbyterian clergyman; Mr. Cope's seminary; and the Naval Seminary, for instruction in seafaring matters, under the superintendance of Captain Beveridge. Various ladies' schools are to be found also, but few possessing much celebrity. Music-masters for the piano and harp take regular circuits to give lessons to the rising fair; while Mons. Giraud, and other professors of attitudes and dancing, teach them to hold their heads up, turn out their toes, and trip it along in waltzes, quadrilles, and contre-danses. -vol. ii. pp. 124, 125.

Scholastic institutions are also endowed with a certain portion of land, and placed under the direction of the ministers of the gospel, at the head of whom is a highly-accomplished, as well as philanthropic gentleman, Mr. Archdeacon Scott. A dispensary is established to furnish medicine and advice gratis to the poor. There are several reading-rooms and libraries; and the inhabitants are further enlightened by the Sydney Gazette' and the Australian,' published twice a-week, and the Monitor,' once a-week: the two latter, we are assured by Mr. Cunningham, are conducted with an ability of which few papers out of London can boast ;' he might have added, for we see them sometimes, 'with a scurrility, too, which would not disgrace Billingsgate and St. Giles's.' The Australian, we understand, is conducted by a transplanted scion of

The term was defined by one of the witnesses on the noted trial of John Thurtell. The question was (but we quote from memory,) What sort of person was Mr. Weare? Answer. Mr. Weare was respectable. Counsel. What do you mean by respectability? Witness. He kept a gig.'

a London

a London parent, whose dull and dolorous columns are mostly employed in slandering our best and most venerable institutions. The average number of advertisements in these three are said to amount from seventy to eighty, and their average circulation to about 650, or a total of 3250 impressions weekly. The Colonial Almanac is said to contain much valuable information on farming and gardening, the periods of planting, sowing, and reaping the several productions of the soil, and many other useful matters. The colonial press is teeming with various works;-a practical treatise on the vine, another on sheep-husbandry, a journal of travels in the interior, and two volumes of poems, one of them by our venerable laureate, Mr. Michael Robinson'-bear the stamp of colonial authorship.

Sydney boasts also of her turf-club, with its secretary, treasurer, and a select number of members, who can only be admitted by ballot. The races are held twice a-year, once at Sydney and once at Paramatta; and not less than eight horses frequently start for the governor's plate, and also for the Australian ladies' plate in short, our author tells us, that this excellent old English sport is nowhere more highly enjoyed than in Australia.' Races, of course, beget balls and suppers, and these require suitable houses to give them in. Thus, we are told, the Australian' and Sydney' hotels in George-street, and Hill's tavern' close to Hyde Park, may vie with those of any English town of the same size. The more respectable part of society adopt the London fashions in dress, the moment they are imported. An active individual, by keeping a fashionable repository for ladies' dresses,' is said to have lately returned to England with a fortune of not less than 12,000l., all acquired in about six short years. Nor does it appear that neatness of dress and personal cleanliness are confined to the higher classes; they are said, on the contrary, to form a very marked feature among a great proportion of the inhabitants, even among those who move in rather an humble sphere,—an indication so far in their favour, since it leads to the presumption that they are alive to a due sense of decorum and moral feeling. As Mr. Cunningham has it, those who delight in a good exterior are seldom either sottish or depraved.'

The rapid progress thus made in the arts, the luxuries, the comforts, and, we may add, the follies of civilised life, in the short space of thirty-eight years,' and at the distance of twelve thousand miles from the country out of which the whole concern emanated, has certainly no parallel. The progressive colonization of the United States, near as they are situated to the mother-country, will bear no comparison with this. A whole century had passed away before their most flourishing colony came any thing

near

near what Australia can already point to.* And when we look back to the early part of the very short period above mentioned, and find the difficulties and the distress which the first settlers had to undergo,-difficulties of a nature most appalling and terrific -we are only surprised that the whole plan of colonizing, under such discouraging circumstances, was not at once abandoned and given up in despair. From Governor Phillips's narrative, and in that singularly curious and painfully interesting journal of Colonel Collins, which may be considered as a sort of Botany Bay Calendar, a striking contrast may be placed in juxtaposition with the pleasing picture we have just sketched from Mr. Cunningham's little volumes. In the year 1788 Captain Phillips sailed from England with about 1000 persons, of whom 564 were male and 122 female convicts, and the remainder civil and military officers, soldiers, and a few women and children. Botany Bay was their destination; but, luxuriant as it might be in rare and beautiful plants, whence its name, it was found wholly unfit for the purposes of this infant settlement. Luckily, at a short distance to the northward, the captain discovered Port Jackson, till then unknown, to which place he removed his living cargo, and landed them at a spot to which he gave the name of Sydney Cove. The first operation was to build a hospital for the sick, which were numerous. But the convicts who were to assist in the building became refractory, some secreted themselves in the woods, some ran away to the ships of La Peyrouse, then in the harbour; others, again, threw away their tools; many of them committed robberies among their companions, and more on the public stores. The sailors brought spirits on shore, and scenes of intoxication and riot were the consequence. The scurvy and dysentery soon raged among them, so that by disease and death the refractory few who could work were reduced to about two hundred and fifty. To add to their misfortunes, the few cattle they had strayed into the woods, and were never recovered.

In 1585 the first colony was carried to Virginia by Sir R. Granville, the few survivors of whom returned with Sir F. Drake to England. In 1587 another colony went, which, after grea. suffering, received support from England by Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1602 several ships and men were sent to Virginia, but they could scarcely be said to have made a permanent establishment till 1606, when James' Town was founded. In 1609 Lord Delaware was sent as governor, with nine ships and upwards of five hundred persons as settlers. A few years after this a reinforcement was sent over with Sir Thomas Gates. In 1616, that is, thirty years after the first attempt at colonization, it is stated by Purchas, in proof of the flourishing condition of the colony, that there were of bulls, cowes, heifers, calves, a hundred and forty four, horses three, and as many mares, goates and kids two hundred and sixteene. Hogges wilde and tame not to bee numbered, and great plenty of poultry'-a miserable picture truly! But before this period some hundreds of the adventurers had perished by disease, famine, and the attacks of the Indians.