trees, bespeaking the curse of sterility. Proceeding further inland,
the country improves: beautiful villas and nice cottages are here and
there scattered along the beach. In the distance stone houses, two and
three stories high, and windmills standing on the edge of a bank,
pointed out to us the neighbourhood of the capital of Australia.
At last we anchored within Sydney Cove. We found the little basin
occupied by many large ships, and surrounded by warehouses. In the
evening I walked through the town, and returned full of admiration at
the whole scene. It is a most magnificent testimony to the power of
the British nation. Here, in a less promising country, scores of years
have done many more times more than an equal number of centuries have
effected in South America. My first feeling was to congratulate myself
that I was born an Englishman. Upon seeing more of the town
afterwards, perhaps my admiration fell a little; but yet it is a fine
town. The streets are regular, broad, clean, and kept in excellent
order; the houses are of a good size, and the shops well furnished. It
may be faithfully compared to the large suburbs which stretch out from
London and a few other great towns in England; but not even near London
or Birmingham is there an appearance of such rapid growth. The number
of large houses and other buildings just finished was truly surprising;
nevertheless, every one complained of the high rents and difficulty in
procuring a house. Coming from South America, where in the towns every
man of property is known, no one thing surprised me more than not being
able to ascertain at once to whom this or that carriage belonged.
I hired a man and two horses to take me to Bathurst, a village about
one hundred and twenty miles in the interior, and the centre of a great
pastoral district. By this means I hoped to gain a general idea of the
appearance of the country. On the morning of the 16th (January) I set
out on my excursion. The first stage took us to Paramatta, a small
country town, next to Sydney in importance. The roads were excellent,
and made upon the MacAdam principle, whinstone having been brought for
the purpose from the distance of several miles. In all respects there
was a close resemblance to England: perhaps the alehouses here were
more numerous. The iron gangs, or parties of convicts who have
committed here some offense, appeared the least like England: they were
working in chains, under the charge of sentries with loaded arms.
The power which the government possesses, by means of forced labour, of
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