worse: hence children learn the vilest expressions, and it is
fortunate, if not equally vile ideas.
On the other hand, the capital of a person, without any trouble on his
part, produces him treble interest to what it will in England; and with
care he is sure to grow rich. The luxuries of life are in abundance,
and very little dearer than in England, and most articles of food are
cheaper. The climate is splendid, and perfectly healthy; but to my
mind its charms are lost by the uninviting aspect of the country.
Settlers possess a great advantage in finding their sons of service
when very young. At the age of from sixteen to twenty, they frequently
take charge of distant farming stations. This, however, must happen at
the expense of their boys associating entirely with convict servants. I
am not aware that the tone of society has assumed any peculiar
character; but with such habits, and without intellectual pursuits, it
can hardly fail to deteriorate. My opinion is such, that nothing but
rather sharp necessity should compel me to emigrate.
The rapid prosperity and future prospects of this colony are to me, not
understanding these subjects, very puzzling. The two main exports are
wool and whale-oil, and to both of these productions there is a limit.
The country is totally unfit for canals, therefore there is a not very
distant point, beyond which the land-carriage of wool will not repay
the expense of shearing and tending sheep. Pasture everywhere is so
thin that settlers have already pushed far into the interior: moreover,
the country further inland becomes extremely poor. Agriculture, on
account of the droughts, can never succeed on an extended scale:
therefore, so far as I can see, Australia must ultimately depend upon
being the centre of commerce for the southern hemisphere, and perhaps
on her future manufactories. Possessing coal, she always has the
moving power at hand. From the habitable country extending along the
coast, and from her English extraction, she is sure to be a maritime
nation. I formerly imagined that Australia would rise to be as grand
and powerful a country as North America, but now it appears to me that
such future grandeur is rather problematical.
With respect to the state of the convicts, I had still fewer
opportunities of judging than on other points. The first question is,
whether their condition is at all one of punishment: no one will
maintain that it is a very severe one. This, however, I suppose, is of
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