In the early stage of the colony the deficiency of a circulating medium was severely felt, and consequently few transactions could take place, except by means of barter. The Government regulations entitled settlers to claim land in consideration of the importation of servants, provisions, agricultural implements, live stock, &c.; but no claim could be made on account of capital in the shape of money. The settlers therefore invested almost the whole of their resources in such articles as would entitle them to claim land. If you required a team of horses, the person desirous of selling one did not want what you could offer in exchange, but wished for sheep. You then applied to an owner of sheep, who desired something you did not possess; and frequently two or three exchanges were necessary before you could procure the articles you wanted—generally losing something on each exchange.
Under such circumstances, I proposed a scheme for the formation of a local bank, and was ably assisted by Mr. George Leake and a few other friends possessing influence and property—but no cash.
We depended on the Commissariat issues for the Government expenditure for supplies of coin. The necessary nominal capital was subscribed, and the shareholders assembled to make the arrangements required for opening the bank. At their request, I undertook the management of it, with a Board of Directors. They issued their notes, and the benefits derived by the public became manifest immediately. The bank was very successful. A sufficient supply of coin was gradually obtained from the Government expenditure, and the shareholders for some time divided profits of forty per cent. on theirnominalcapital, which was simply the credit of their names.
The system which enabled settlers to obtain enormous grants of land was found in practice to be neither advantageous to those persons or to the colony. They could not make a profitable use of them; they became a drag upon their resources to meet necessary expenditure, and the lands were locked up from those who might have turned them to better account. One settler, Mr. Peel, obtained 250,000 acres, with a right under certain conditions to claim a like additional quantity of land. The early settlers introduced a large number of servants at their own expense, generally articled to serve for three years at moderate wages. Their employers were inexperienced, not knowing how to apply their labour to the best advantage. For a short time provisions reached famine prices, flour selling at two shillings and sixpence per pound. Servants would not then accept their discharges, but when prices fell they broke their engagements, and instances have occurred of masters having become the servants of their former ploughmen.
The local Bank had been in existence about five years, to the great benefit of the colony, when the Bank of Australasia proposed an amalgamation; and, after due consideration, it was thought advisable for the interests of the colony to secure the co-operation of that important corporation. The Manager sent from London died before the Bank was opened, and the management of the new Bank was conferred on me.
An opinion prevailed in the colony that the interests of religion would be greatly promoted were Western Australia erected into the See of a Bishop, and I proposed a scheme to create an endowment for that object by means of subscriptions of land, to which I contributed 500 acres. After an interval of several years the object was happily accomplished by the appointment of an excellent man, Dr. Matthew Hale, formerly Archdeacon of Flinders, in South Australia, to be the first Bishop of Western Australia.
After an experience of another five years the Bank of Australasia came to the conclusion that their business in Western Australia was too limited to justify their maintaining an isolated branch at Perth. It was therefore ordered to be closed, and I was offered the management of their branch at Adelaide, in South Australia, which I accepted. Thus it fell to my lot to open and also to close two Banks.
It was with feelings of much pain that I made up my mind to leave a colony in which I had resided for sixteen years. The interest felt in the formation and progress of a new settlement became a tie binding society together. Being situated on a western coast, where the sea breezes prevailed for nine months in the year, the climate was excellent; and, although the average of the land was of an inferior quality, yet there was abundance of rich land for purposes of tillage.
Previous to my departure, I was gratified by receiving a flattering address, signed by all the members of the Executive Council, the magistrates, clergy, and many others, testifying to my zeal in promoting objects of public utility.
In April, 1846, I and my family arrived in Adelaide, and assumed charge of the Bank of Australasia at that place, at that time temporarily situated in Hindley Street. A new and excellent site was obtained in King William Street shortly afterwards, on which handsome premises were erected. This ground, about ninety feet square, was purchased in exchange for 640 acres of excellent country land. To avoid the difficulty of proving the signatures of a corporate body frequently changing, the mode of conveyance chosen, being remarkable, is here mentioned. It was the old feudal system of “livery of seizin.” I went upon the land, pulled a twig off a tree, which I presented to the purchaser in the presence of witnesses, using a few formal words. The transaction was recorded and registered, and thus conferred an indefeasible title in law.
At the period referred to, Adelaide was in a very primitive state and I actually lost myself for a short time within its boundaries. The streets and pathways were generally in their natural state, and from the traffic in wet weather foot passengers were up to their ankles in mud. St. John’s Church was like a barn; and, on my appointment as warden, I collected a considerable sum to build a vestry, plaster the walls, and make other improvements.
No superior school had been established for the education of boys at that time, and I devoted all my spare time towards the attainment of that object. I assembled a meeting of gentlemen, representing various religious bodies, to consider the question, which met on two or three occasions. Several of them, however, strongly urged as a principle, that there should be no religious teaching whatever. This principle was rejected by a large majority. I then secured the co-operation of a committee of twelve gentlemen, of which I was elected chairman, who agreed to form a proprietary grammar school on Church of England principles, but open to all denominations. I collected £2,000 from eighty subscribers of £25 each, and after a delay of four or five months the school was at length opened in the school-room of Trinity Church. The Revs. W. J. Woodcock and James Farrell and Mr. G. W. Hawkes were most energetic coadjutors.
Shortly afterwards I suggested to Captain Allen—a munificent friend to education—that as the school had made a fair start, I hoped some of our wealthy friends would push it on, as I wished to secure a good site and erect buildings. In this he concurred, saying he would give £1,000 and thought Mr. Graham would do the same. I pointed out that Mr. Graham was in England and not accessible, but hinted that the £1,000 might be increased to £2,000, which Captain Allen at once agreed to. He afterwards increased his donations to upwards of £7,000.
The Lord Bishop of Adelaide arrived about this time from England. He had obtained a grant of £2,000, from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, which he agreed to place at the disposal of the School Committee—provided accommodation in their new buildings was set apart for four theological students. This arrangement was concluded accordingly, and the school was afterwards, by Act of Parliament, incorporated as the “Church of England Collegiate School of St. Peter.”
A very valuable site of about thirty-seven acres of land close to Adelaide was secured, on which extensive and handsome buildings have been erected. The late Mr. DaCosta bequeathed a reversionary property to the Institution, valued at £23,000; and the late Dean Farrell bequeathed his estate, valued at £15,000, to the College, subject to a few annuities. The school has attained to a high reputation, many of its pupils having attained first-class honours at the English Universities, including the degrees of Wrangler at Cambridge, and its staff of masters is believed to be unsurpassed in the Southern Hemisphere.
Through the munificent liberality of Captain Allen a school for the education of the middle classes was also established, and suitable building erected in Pulteney-street, the property being vested in the then Governors of the Collegiate School, and on similar principles, the object being to cheapen the cost of education to suit the circumstances of that class. Mr. Masters endowed this school with three country sections of land; the Government of that day also contributing £500. The property of this Institution is worth about £3,000, and it has been eminently successful.
Having been formerly stationed in the Island of Zante, one of the Ionian Islands, I became aware of the great mercantile value of the Zante currant, and while in Western Australia succeeded in introducing the plant into that province. Its history was remarkable. After a long correspondence in establishing agency, the Curator of the Government Garden of St. Antonio, in Malta, received an application from London for a supply of cuttings, which reached him a month after the pruning season, but the request being urgent he pruned a second time. The cuttings were then rolled in damp flannel, packed, and soldered in a tin case, and forwarded to Dr. Hooker, Curator of Kew Gardens, near London. That gentleman planted them in a glazed case, but many months elapsed before an opportunity occurred to forward them to their destination. They at length reached Western Australia, but at the wrong season. However, Mr. Mackay, the Judge of the Supreme Court, had a conservatory in which they were planted and most carefully attended. In the following spring they were removed and planted out, the roots being like fine white Cambric threads; but in the second year a few tolerably strong shoots were obtained. To save time, the double system of budding and grafting was adopted on old grape vines, and in the following year about 400 rooted plants of the Zante currant were established. None other existed in Australia. Mr. McArthur, of New South Wales, wrote to request a few plants, which I had the pleasure of forwarding, and distributed others to several gentlemen in South Australia.
As kindred to the above it may be here noticed that, during my residence in Western Australia, in conjunction with Mr. Richard Nash, we formed a Vineyard Society, the object being to prepare and trench a nursery for vines, to procure a collection of the choicest varieties, to preserve their names and identity, and to distribute themgratisto all who engaged to plant them in trenched ground. Some gentlemen reduced the rents of their lands to their tenants in proportion to the extent of their vineyards. The Society procured a collection of 400 varieties from Mr. Busby’s vineyard, in New South Wales, but the progress in distributing plants was rather slow, until a few of the settlers produced wine, which gave a rapid impulse to the operations of the society, and within a few years some of them were enabled to distribute a pint of wine daily to the men in their employ. The society also published a pamphlet containing instructions for the formation and cultivation of vineyards and for making wine.
Some time after the Lord Bishop (Dr. Short) arrived in Adelaide, a Conference of the several Australian bishops was summoned to meet the Metropolitan at Sydney. A new dogma was declared at that conference to be anarticle of faith, after some opposition, namely, baptismal regeneration. The Bishop returned, and on the day previous to the annual meeting of the “Church Society” (the then governing body of the affairs of the Church of England in South Australia), the proceedings of the Sydney Conference became known. The Governor, Sir Henry Young, presided, and after routine business being disposed of, I strongly protested against the Sydney Conference assuming authority to imposea new article of faithin addition to the Thirty-nine Articles. Unfortunately, I had not had time to give notice of my intention or secure a seconder of my motion, and a pause ensued. Sir Henry Young then said that as it was not seconded he would not put it to the meeting, when Mr. G. S. Walters stood up and said he would not only second, but support it. Sir Henry immediately left the chair in anger, and retired—the Bishop then presiding. The meeting was greatly excited; but after some discussion, His Lordship promised to call a general meeting of the members of the church in a fortnight, to consider the subject, on which the business of the day terminated.
The meeting referred to was held in the Pulteney-street schoolroom, which was crowded, and the subject of the new dogma was fully discussed. The resolutions opposed to it were carried almost unanimously, there being only two or three persons who voted against them. These proceedings were afterwards commented upon with approval by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the House of Lords, and were similarly noticed in the House of Commons.
An address of thanks on this occasion, most respectably signed, was afterwards presented to myself and Mr. G. S. Walters.
At this time the position of the Church of England in the colonies was very unsatisfactory. The Ecclesiastical Laws of England were declared to have no force, and the Church appeared to be cast adrift. A meeting of the “Church Society” took place, at which a committee was appointed—consisting of Major Campbell, Messrs. G. W. Hawkes, R. B. Lucas, and myself, of which I was named chairman—to consider and report upon “the best means they could devise for drawing the clergy and laity into closer union.” The constitution of a Diocesan Synod appeared to me to meet the requirements of the case, and I drew up a full scheme to accomplish that object, which I submitted to the Committee, and afterwards laid before the “Church Society.” This scheme was considered to be extremely bold, as there was no precedent of such plan having been adopted previously by any branch of the Church of England, except some approach to it in the diocese of Toronto in Upper Canada; and the only guide for such a system was that of the Episcopal Church of America. The subject was discussed at great length, and for several months. It was adjourned, however, as the Bishop proposed proceeding to England, where he could consult the highest legal authorities, including the Attorney-General. The scheme was declared to be perfectly legal, and on His Lordship’s return to the colony it was inaugurated by aconsensual compact, and has now, in the year 1871, been in operation during seventeen annual sessions with the happiest results, and has been also adopted in all the other Australian colonies and New Zealand. Subsequently, another subject affecting the Church of England attracted much notice. The colony was visited by a very eminent and much respected Non-conformist minister, the Rev. Thos. Binney. He was cordially received by all classes of society, and was for a short time a guest at Bishop’s Court. The Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell, was desirous that he should be invited to preach in the Church of England pulpits, and procured his own election as a member of Synod, for the purpose of proposing it, of which he gave due notice. A preliminary meeting of the Standing Committee of Synod was held to consider the subject, and I was requested to oppose the Governor’s motion by an amendment, moving the “previous question,” and thus defeating it. At the subsequent meeting of Synod, Sir Richard MacDonnell delivered a long address strongly urging the adoption of his motion, which was discussed at great length; and I moved the amendment agreed upon, which was carried by a majority of about two-thirds. The consideration that the Synod had only recently bound itself by itsconsensual compactto abide by the laws and usages of the Church of England, had a powerful influence with the majority. An address of thanks from the “Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Church Union,” dated 18th August, 1859, was afterwards received by me as the mover of the amendment on this occasion.
About the year 1848 a monetary pressure occurred, and the merchants were calling in their advances made to the sheepowners. I felt that if this course was continued it would probably lead to a commercial crisis, which would depreciate the securities held by the Bank. I therefore paid off the liabilities of those whom I considered safe to the extent of about £70,000, taking up their accounts, which prevented the expected crisis, greatly increasing the business of the Bank, and nothing was ever lost on those accounts. The London Directors became alarmed, however, at those large transactions, and remonstrated with me. It is difficult, however, for gentlemen residing at so great a distance to form an accurate judgment on such transactions.
In the year 1849, I received a letter from Lord Fitzroy Somerset, afterwards Lord Raglan, Military Secretary to the Commander-in Chief the Duke of York, forwarding to me a war medal and clasp. The Duke of Richmond had called the attention of the House of Lords to the fact that no medals had been granted to the army for certain distinguished battles and sieges, and moved an address to the Crown upon the subject, which was carried. A Board of General officers was appointed to consider and report upon the matter, and their recommendation was adopted.
The discoveries of gold in the Province of Victoria were so rich that a perfect exodus of all classes of the male population of South Australia, except the old and young, took place. It was a time of great anxiety, on account of the numerous helpless families which were left slenderly provided for. The Adelaide men were generally successful, and having collected large quantities of gold, began returning to their families in about six months, when the scenes occurring in Adelaide were quite marvellous. A dozen weddings almost daily taking place; the bridal parties driving in carriages about town and country, and clearing the drapers’ shops of silks and satins.
At the time of the exodus the notes of Banks were presented in large quantities for payment in specie, of which the Bank of South Australia, although wealthy, was nearly drained; but the demand was so sudden that there was no time to procure supplies from abroad. The Bank of Australasia held at that time about £90,000 in gold, and was prepared to aid the other Bank for mutual protection, when fortunately the scheme of the “Bullion Act” was brought into operation, and effected an immediate and wonderful change.
This Act was devised by Mr. G. S. Walters, a gentleman of great experience in monetary affairs. It provided that the gold dust already deposited in the Treasury, amounting to a large sum, should be smelted into ingots of various sizes, stamped with the Queen’s head, and the accurate assay, and declared to be legal tenders at the rate of £3 14s. per ounce—gold dust then selling in Melbourne at £3 7s. This immediately stopped the demand for sovereigns, caused large additional quantities of gold dust to be introduced from Melbourne, and quieted the public mind. Some of the gold was so pure that it afterwards realized over £4 per ounce in London.
There is no doubt that the Bullion Act was a direct infringement of the Royal prerogative as to coinage, and demanded anxious consideration. Sir Henry Young was then Governor, and the Bank Managers were requested on different occasions to meet him in Executive Council to consider the subject. Mr. Tinline (Bank of South Australia) and myself (Bank of Australasia) urgently supported the adoption of the Bill; the Manager of the Union Bank opposed it. The responsibility was very great, but the Executive Government submitted it to the Legislature, and the Bill was passed into an Act for two years. The Home Government approved of it, considering that it was warranted by the great emergency.
Another very useful measure was adopted about this time. A strong, well-armed body of mounted police was sent periodically to the gold diggings at Bendigo, in Victoria, to escort the gold found by South Australian diggers to Adelaide. The service was continued for a considerable time, and the gold thus introduced exceeded two millions sterling.
The successful gold diggers would, in all probability, have remained in Victoria and removed their families from hence had it not been that many of them were owners of land, which tied them to the province; and they ultimately returned with their unexpected wealth and purchased additional lands.
There can be no doubt that the land system of South Australia, which provided that the country should be surveyed and sold in sections of eighty acres, was the means of saving the province from temporary ruin. The facilities for acquiring land by the labouring classes were very considerable. The discovery of the Burra Copper Mine gave the first great impulse to the progress of the colony; the produce of that mine alone having exceeded £4,000,000 sterling up to a recent period.
It is curious to follow the career of an immigrant after that discovery. He became a labourer for one or two years, when his saving of wages enabled him to purchase a team of oxen and a dray. He then commenced carrying copper ore from the Burra Mine to Port Adelaide, taking back stores and provisions, and in one or two years more was in a position to purchase an eighty-acre section of land and become a farmer. While his crops were growing, and at other spare times, he again carried ore from the mine and was soon able to purchase more land, and became a man of some consequence in his district. This man was the type of a considerable class of yeomen, who, having property to protect became Conservatives, and exercised a material influence on the peace and prosperity of the country.
The transactions of the Burra Mine were on a great scale at that time, employing upwards of 1,100 men, who, with their families, numbered over 4,000 souls supported by that mine. At one period the shareholders divided annually 800 per cent. on their £5 shares. Their Bank account, however, absorbed a large amount of capital; at one period it was overdrawn about £72,000, as they calculated on the value of the ore as soon as it was raised to the surface at the mine, but before it could be shipped to England and bills drawn against it. The Bank Directors in London objected strongly to this, and even suggested more than once that the accounts had better be closed. I, however, feeling how very prejudicial to the interests of the Bank such a course would be, and having visited the mine and satisfied myself as to its great value, took the responsibility of continuing the account—the Burra Directors having engaged on my representation gradually to diminish the overdraft to a moderate amount. I felt quite convinced of the correctness of the views entertained by the London Board, as no single establishment should absorb so large a proportion of the capital allotted to each branch.
There were also a few mercantile accounts the advances to which the London Board objected as being too large, and they appeared to think that I was not sufficiently cautious in conducting their business, although they had sustained no losses, and their business had been quadrupled. Some irregularity had also occurred in the office, and I was offered the option of removing to some other branch or receiving compensation on resigning, but was requested to remain at the Bank for some time in order to aid my successor until he became acquainted with the customers and the nature of their transactions. I remained for some time, but no other branch becoming vacant, and being also unwilling to leave South Australia, I accepted compensation and retired.
Some time afterwards, having sold a property in Western Australia for £3,000, I agreed to join in a mercantile business with a gentleman connected with my family. On this becoming known to Mr. John Ellis, he very handsomely and spontaneously presented me with a letter of credit for £5,000 on the wealthy firm of Morrisson & Co., of London; and Mr. G. S. Walters, in a similar manner, introduced me to his father-in-law, Mr. Frederick Huth, of the great firm of Frederick Huth & Co., of London, who opened credits for the new firm with their several correspondents at Mauritius, Calcutta, Bombay, Ceylon, Singapore, and China, for £2,000 each. The business was thus commenced with a fair prospect, but not proving very successful after a trial of a few years, I retired from the firm.
In the year 1855 the second mixed Legislative Council, of nominated and elected members, assembled. I had offered myself as a candidate to represent the District of Willunga, in this Council, but after a close contest was defeated. The Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell, however, immediately offered to nominate me to a seat, at the same time stating that I was not to consider myself bound in the slightest degree to support any Government measure which I did not approve. I accepted this offer and took my seat in that Council, which elected me in the following November to the honourable position of Chairman of Committees.
At this time the citizens of Adelaide obtained their supplies of water from the River Torrens, which was subject to pollution, and the cartage was inconvenient and expensive. Complaints were numerous, and the Government introduced a Bill for constructing water-works at a cost of £280,000. This amount was so large that the Council did not believe the Government was serious, and at the second reading the Chairman of Committees read some eighty clausesseriatim, with scarcely a remark from any members. The Bill was finally passed, and has proved a most beneficial measure.
On the dissolution of this mixed Council (elective and nominated) on which had devolved the passing of the Constitution Act in 1857, I was elected to represent the District of Flinders, and took my seat in the Legislative Assembly, under the new responsible Government, consisting of five members,—namely, Chief Secretary, Attorney-General, Treasurer, Commissioner of Crown Lands, and Commissioner of Public Works.
I offered myself as a candidate for the office of Speaker of the House of Assembly in the year 1857, but was unsuccessful. In the following month of September I was invited to join the Ministry of Mr. (now Sir) R. R. Torrens, and became Commissioner of Crown Lands. This Ministry lasted, however, but a short time, and was succeeded by that formed by the present Sir R. D. Hanson. The “Constitution Act” was passed during this session of Parliament. Some of its clauses were objected to by me, chiefly that relating to universal suffrage, on the ground that intelligent votes could not be given by those who could neither read or write. I succeeded, however, in introducing a clause requiring a fixed residence of six months (twelve months were proposed) to qualify for voting.
In the year 1859 I was appointed as a Special Magistrate under the “Local Courts Act”—first, to preside in the Local Courts at Willunga and Morphett Vale, and afterwards at those in the Northern Districts, namely, at Redruth, Clare, Auburn, and Riverton. I continued to perform those duties for upwards of ten years, and on the amalgamation of two districts I retired, receiving the usual retiring allowance.
On this occasion I was much gratified by receiving two flattering addresses, one from the members of the bar practising in the Northern Courts, the other signed by all the Magistrates of the District and numerous other residents. This last was beautifully illuminated and engrossed on vellum.
Having served over twenty-two years in His Majesty’s army; six years farming in a new settlement (Western Australia); seventeen years as a Bank manager; three years as a merchant; four years in Parliament, during which I held office in the Ministry for a short time; and lastly, over ten years administering the laws in Local Courts—my career may be fairly considered as long and varied. Having arrived at an old age, I may now rest from my labours, trusting to the atoning merits of a merciful Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, for an eternal rest hereafter.
MARSHALL MACDERMOTT.
William Kyffin Thomas, Printer, Grenfell-street, Adelaide.
William Kyffin Thomas, Printer, Grenfell-street, Adelaide.
William Kyffin Thomas, Printer, Grenfell-street, Adelaide.
Transcriber’s Notes:Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.Typographical errors were silently corrected.Two errata were applied to the text.Page 5, line 28.–For “Gulf of Causo” read “Gut of Causo.”Page 16, line 2.–For “Montreal” read “Montreuil.”Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book.