FOOTNOTES:

FOOTNOTES:[257]London Agency Letter, November, 1848.[258]Debate, March 8, 1849. (Hansard.)[259]Among the many devices to awaken attention to ministerial injustice was an association to obtain for liberated convicts, of the incorrigible class, a passage to England. The prospectus, signed by Drs. Browne and Gaunt, turned back the British arguments for transportation with effect, and proposed to remit the objects of their charity to the reform societies, parishes, and municipalities of England. This proposal was seriously discussed at Port Phillip, and nothing prevented its partial execution but the difficulty of preserving, with the ordinary arrangements of a vessel, the subordination of such a ship's company.[260]"The solemn Declaration of the undersigned Colonists of Van Diemen's Land, addressed to the British nation."On the 5th day of April, 1850, the shipNeptune, the vessel freighted with convicts to the Cape of Good Hope, but rejected by its inhabitants, anchored in the port of Hobart Town, under the orders of the right honorable the secretary of state, Earl Grey."Our reiterated petitions presented to her Majesty's government have impressed the feelings of every class upon the subject of transportation, and exhausted every argument which could enforce its abolition."The ministers of religion, the parents of 20,000 children, the magistrates almost unanimously, have in every form expostulated and implored; nothing that the constitution authorises remains to be done to make known the most unhappy and oppressed condition of this country...."We cannot resist the oppression of the British government. We are convinced that appeals to the justice and humanity of the ministry are utterly unavailing; and that the principles which have induced them to relieve armed or rebellious colonies, lead to the oppression or contemptuous disregard of those who are too feeble for effectual resistance."We have patiently awaited redress; we have borne illegal taxes, imposed by a council of crown nominees, and maintained by the amoval ofonejudge and the appointment of another; and have appealed only to the provisions of the constitutional law of England—but in vain."And now, to fill up the measure of our wrong, ministers have publicly announced their contempt for our petitions, by ordering theNeptuneto our port, and discharging her passengers upon our shores."In such circumstances silence would be criminal. As citizens and parents we hereby solemnly protest against the cruelty and falsehood of the English government—against the wrongs which threaten and oppress ourselves and our children."Van Diemen's Land, April, 1850."

[257]London Agency Letter, November, 1848.

[258]Debate, March 8, 1849. (Hansard.)

[259]Among the many devices to awaken attention to ministerial injustice was an association to obtain for liberated convicts, of the incorrigible class, a passage to England. The prospectus, signed by Drs. Browne and Gaunt, turned back the British arguments for transportation with effect, and proposed to remit the objects of their charity to the reform societies, parishes, and municipalities of England. This proposal was seriously discussed at Port Phillip, and nothing prevented its partial execution but the difficulty of preserving, with the ordinary arrangements of a vessel, the subordination of such a ship's company.

[260]"The solemn Declaration of the undersigned Colonists of Van Diemen's Land, addressed to the British nation."On the 5th day of April, 1850, the shipNeptune, the vessel freighted with convicts to the Cape of Good Hope, but rejected by its inhabitants, anchored in the port of Hobart Town, under the orders of the right honorable the secretary of state, Earl Grey."Our reiterated petitions presented to her Majesty's government have impressed the feelings of every class upon the subject of transportation, and exhausted every argument which could enforce its abolition."The ministers of religion, the parents of 20,000 children, the magistrates almost unanimously, have in every form expostulated and implored; nothing that the constitution authorises remains to be done to make known the most unhappy and oppressed condition of this country...."We cannot resist the oppression of the British government. We are convinced that appeals to the justice and humanity of the ministry are utterly unavailing; and that the principles which have induced them to relieve armed or rebellious colonies, lead to the oppression or contemptuous disregard of those who are too feeble for effectual resistance."We have patiently awaited redress; we have borne illegal taxes, imposed by a council of crown nominees, and maintained by the amoval ofonejudge and the appointment of another; and have appealed only to the provisions of the constitutional law of England—but in vain."And now, to fill up the measure of our wrong, ministers have publicly announced their contempt for our petitions, by ordering theNeptuneto our port, and discharging her passengers upon our shores."In such circumstances silence would be criminal. As citizens and parents we hereby solemnly protest against the cruelty and falsehood of the English government—against the wrongs which threaten and oppress ourselves and our children."Van Diemen's Land, April, 1850."

[260]

"The solemn Declaration of the undersigned Colonists of Van Diemen's Land, addressed to the British nation.

"On the 5th day of April, 1850, the shipNeptune, the vessel freighted with convicts to the Cape of Good Hope, but rejected by its inhabitants, anchored in the port of Hobart Town, under the orders of the right honorable the secretary of state, Earl Grey.

"Our reiterated petitions presented to her Majesty's government have impressed the feelings of every class upon the subject of transportation, and exhausted every argument which could enforce its abolition.

"The ministers of religion, the parents of 20,000 children, the magistrates almost unanimously, have in every form expostulated and implored; nothing that the constitution authorises remains to be done to make known the most unhappy and oppressed condition of this country....

"We cannot resist the oppression of the British government. We are convinced that appeals to the justice and humanity of the ministry are utterly unavailing; and that the principles which have induced them to relieve armed or rebellious colonies, lead to the oppression or contemptuous disregard of those who are too feeble for effectual resistance.

"We have patiently awaited redress; we have borne illegal taxes, imposed by a council of crown nominees, and maintained by the amoval ofonejudge and the appointment of another; and have appealed only to the provisions of the constitutional law of England—but in vain.

"And now, to fill up the measure of our wrong, ministers have publicly announced their contempt for our petitions, by ordering theNeptuneto our port, and discharging her passengers upon our shores.

"In such circumstances silence would be criminal. As citizens and parents we hereby solemnly protest against the cruelty and falsehood of the English government—against the wrongs which threaten and oppress ourselves and our children.

"Van Diemen's Land, April, 1850."

But the day of deliverance was at hand. "The Australias are one" became the watch-word of the abolitionists,and they adopted decisive means to propagate the cry, and secure the co-operation of the colonies of the continent. From this idea sprang the "Australasian League"—an organization comprehending a numerical and moral force without parallel in the present colonial empire. At Launceston, on the 9th of August, 1850, the following resolution was adopted:—"That the whole of the Australasian Colonies are deeply interested in preventing the continuance of Transportation to this Island. That the Launceston Association for Promoting the cessation of Transportation to Van Diemen's Land be hereby requested to address a letter to the respective Colonial Secretaries, Speakers of Legislative bodies, Municipal authorities, and other influential parties in those Colonies, earnestly requesting the co-operation to ensure their attainment of the great object we have in view."

The feeling expressed in this resolution was instantly reciprocated in all the colonies. Speakers at their meetings referred to the condition and hopeless prostration of Van Diemen's Land as a general grievance. A letter, founded on this resolution, was drawn up by Messrs. West, Du Croz, and Douglas (dated August 26), under the instructions of the "Launceston Association," the first formed in the colonies. It was signed by the chairman, Rev. Dr. Browne, senior-chaplain of Launceston. After tracing the course of the British government, it proceeded:—"As a last resource we turn to our fellow-colonists who, united to us by the strictest ties, are liable to the same wrongs; and who will not be indifferent spectators of sufferings which they may ultimately share. If you look at the chart of Van Diemen's Land you will perceive her geographical position establishes a relation to the adjacent colonies which no laws can disown and no time dissolve. A few hours convey vessels from our shores to the ports of Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia; and a few days' sail to New Zealand, and thence to the islands that crowd the Pacific Ocean. Her majesty's ministers have taught the communities established in this portion of the empire that their ultimate interests areONE: that upon the public spirit, intelligence, and virtue of each, in no small measure, depend the happiness and prosperity of all. We remind you that, in twenty years from the present moment, should transportation continue, and the annual number remain stationary, 70,000 or 80,000 convicted persons will have passed through Van Diemen's Land into the neighbouring colonies. They will consist of men not only originally depraved: all will have gone through thedemoralizing probation of public gangs: they will all have dwelt, for several years, in exclusively convict society, where every prevailing sympathy must be tainted with the habits of crime. This island will not be a filter; but the accumulation of moral wretchedness will unavoidably contaminate every mind, and stamp on every character the impression of its peculiar constitution. The sacrifice of this colony will not, therefore, exempt the neighbouring settlements from any portion of the mischief incident to direct transportation. They will receive the prisoners later in life, but deteriorated in character. Evil associations and evil men become worse and worse: such is the dictate of reason, and such is the solemn warning written in the oracles of God. If, then, your colony had cause to protest against the infliction of this evil in a limited degree, how much stronger must be your opposition to a system which will bring into your streets, your houses, your hospitals and prisons, the crime, insanity, decrepitude, and pauperism ever consequent on transportation, aggravated by transmission through a country in moral ruin. Were we to appeal to a principle of selfishness in addressing our countrymen, we might remind you that the reputation of this entire hemisphere is compromised by the condition of Van Diemen's Land. The nice geographical distinctions which colonists make are lost in the distance. As your vessels enter foreign ports, the line which divides your population from ours fails to distinguish them. We have heard with regret, and not without humiliation, that the British name, every where respectable until now, has ceased to insure to many, who have never forfeited its sanction, the common confidence of foreign nations. That a petty state, but of yesterday, has initiated laws intended to stigmatise all the inhabitants of the southern world, and attributing to the whole the character of convictism. A more serious consideration is the positive injury inflicted upon the islanders of the Southern Ocean by scattering among them desperate men who have been perfected in all the arts of wickedness, and who are placed within reach of an interesting and rising people, whom they too often shock by their vices and oppress by their crimes. We submit, sir, to your humanity as a British fellow subject, and to your discretion as a christian magistrate, the case of this country. In the mutation of human affairs, the arm of oppression, which has smitten us with desolation, may strike at your social well-being. Communities allied by blood, language, and commerce, cannot long suffer alone. We conjure you, therefore, by theunity of colonial interests—as well as by the obligations which bind all men to intercede with the strong and unjust on behalf of the feeble and oppressed—to exert your influence to the intent that transportation to Van Diemen's Land may for ever cease."

The colonial office at first did not deny, what indeed was unquestionable, that such hopes had been given, and not until twelve months after Lord Grey maintained that his discretion was not limited by his promise. Mr. Jackson again remonstrated with the minister on behalf of the colony. Earl Grey directed Mr. Hawes to assure him the government earnestly desired to meet the wishes of the inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land for the discontinuance of transportation (March, 17, 1849). The opinion of British legislators of high pretensions having confirmed the colonial interpretation, Earl Grey made another effort to recover New South Wales. He once more instructed Sir C. Fitz Roy to reopen the discussion (Nov. 19, 1849), and a message for this purpose was sent to the legislature (June, 1850). A new election meantime occurred, and the people, supposing the question irrevocably settled, had exacted no pledges from the members. Mr. Lamb, then a crown nominee, proposed (August, 1850), a series of resolutions confirming the previous decision, and declaring that tranquillity could only be restored by revoking "the order in council." The debate on these resolutions was postponed until the 27th of September, when it was understood counter propositions would be submitted.

The proposal to revive transportation in New South Wales was under discussion when the speech of Earl Grey's reached the colonies. The people were called together to consult on their own affairs and naturally turned to the policy of government as exhibited in Tasmania. The resolution of the 9th of August obtained an immediate response, and gave a new aspect to the agitation. The great Sydney meeting (September 16) "pledged themselves to co-operate with their brethren in Van Diemen's Land;" and an association then formed for preventing the revival of transportation opened a channel of communication. TheSydney Herald, the chief organ of the abolition cause, remarked, "the best way of dealing with this and all other evasions is that suggested by the people of Van Diemen's Land, the formation of a great Australian confederacy" (September 16). The people of Port Phillip "tendered their deep sympathy and hearty concurrence and co-operation," and appointed a provisionalcommittee to take such measures as might be deemed necessary to obtain complete redress. The unity of the colonies became thenceforth the favorite topic, and nothing remained but to give to this important sentiment a practical direction. Meanwhile (1st October), the council of New South Wales decided on the despatch of Earl Grey, so far as related to themselves. An amendment of Mr. M'Arthur, to receive selected exiles with three emigrants for each, although supported by the eloquence of Wentworth, was defeated, and Mr. Lamb's motion carried without a division. The abolitionists had made efforts to secure unexampled demonstrations without, and to determine the question for ever. They held meetings daily, and called into action all the agents of political agitation. The ladies imitated the mothers and daughters of Van Diemen's Land, and petitioned. The members on the popular side were encouraged by the countenance of the bishops and clergy of all persuasions. The judges gave the weight of their experience on the same side. Five hundred persons memorialised the council in favor of transportation. Thirty-six thousand protested against it. The Port Phillip members who went up to Sydney on this errand alone, to secure a majority of the side of abolition, were met by the citizens at the water side and escorted in triumph. The debates were more prolonged than any known before—Australian eloquence exhausted the topic, and satisfied the public judgment for ever. Mr. Wentworth in supporting the amendment yet declared his aversion to transportation, and his belief that nothing but a powerful confederation of the colonies would prevail against it.[261]The governor was neutral: the official members of the house withdrew: but the attorney-general rose from the deserted benches, and claiming to perform a duty as a citizen who had watched transportation in all its stages and results, gave an irresistible testimony on the side of social freedom.

A common interest in the liberation of Tasmania being thus avowed by the continental colonies, it became necessary to settle the principles of their confederation. The Rev. John West of Launceston, who had first mooted the measure, was deputed to consult with the colonists resident at Hobart Town. Meetings were accordingly held at the dwelling house of Mr. Hopkins of that city during several weeks, and the whole question of transportation in its colonial aspect was largely discussed. An impression seemed to prevail that the theory of dispersion, as originally propounded by Earl Grey, might have been beneficial to the empire and desirable for the convicts, and but slightly injurious to the colonies. It was clear, however, that the resolution of the free colonies was irrevocable, and that the continuance of transportation would pour an incessant and destructive stream of crime into Van Diemen's Land. Nor was it possible to make common cause with the adjacent communities but by supporting the object of their local resistance. Without reference to theories no longer practicable, an agreement was drawn up by Mr. Pitcairn, and signed by the gentlemen present, in the following terms:—"We the undersigned, deeply impressed by the evils which have arisen from the transportation of the criminals of Great Britain to the Australian colonies, declare that transportation to any of the colonies ought for ever to cease, and we do hereby pledge ourselves to use all lawful means to procure its abolition—Robert Pitcairn, Thomas D. Chapman, Henry Hopkins, G. C. Clarke, Joseph Allport, John West, F. Haller, G. W. Walker, William Rout, Henry Smith, P. T. Smith, Robert Officer."

Having thus secured concurrence in the object to be sought, the initiation of practical measures was remitted to the Association of Launceston. At an adjourned meeting of that body, on 10th October, the secretary, Mr. Crookes, was instructed to propose a conference of delegates from each of the colonies, to be held at Victoria. This proposal was instantly adopted by the abolitionists of Melbourne: the mayor was requested to forward invitations, and to fix the time of meeting for January, 1851. The people of New South Wales and South Australia found it inconvenient to comply with this arrangement, but expressed the most cordial interest in its issue. The Associations of Hobart Town and Launceston selected, as their delegates, the Rev. J. West and W. P. Weston, Esq., who, for some years, had been actively engaged in the struggle against transportation.A public breakfast was given by their constituents at the port of embarkation, at which Mr. Sharland presided. The delegates explained their views. They were going forth to change the policy of a mighty empire. "We," said they, "assert that a community should deal with its own crime; at least, so deal with it that, in its disposal, it shall not injure those who have never offended,—so that, at least, the honest labourer shall not be brought into unfavorable competition with the hardened criminal,—so that, at all events, our sons shall not be driven from their homes to seek employment in distant lands, there to meet suspicion and contempt." They disclaimed all intentions inconsistent with constitutional loyalty, and all weapons but those of justice and truth. "We are a loyal people, and have given abundant proof of our loyalty, but it is not an unalterable principle. There is an old proverb: 'The sweetest wine makes the sourest vinegar.'" On the departure of the delegates (Jan. 15, 1851) they were attended by the Launceston Association and a large concourse of people. The vessels in the harbour were decorated with their colours, and the whole scene was imposing. Three cheers were given for the Australasian Conference, and three for the Queen. As the vessel moved from the wharf, the band struck up the air which well expressed the feelings of the moment—"Rule Britannia: Britons never shall be slaves." "In a few weeks," said a spectator, "the Australasian League will be a great fact—an epoch in the history of Australia. We have seen the beginning of the end."

When the delegates landed at Victoria they were warmly welcomed. An address was read and presented to them by the mayor, Mr. Westgarth, the member for Melbourne, Mr. Stawell, and other gentlemen of the association. "We bid you," said they, "God speed, in the high and holy mission on which you come. Rest assured that the colonists of Victoria will go with you heart and hand, and they will not cease their efforts until the emancipation of the Australian colonies from the oppression of British crime shall be fully accomplished." "You," said the delegates in reply, "can confer no greater honor on the province that bears the name of Victoria, than by initiating measures which may assure the Australian world that that illustrious name shall everywhere be the guarantee of justice and truth." The delegates and the local association met in the town council chamber, and concerted the plans of future action. After several protracted sittings the terms of confederationwere settled, and a "League and Solemn Engagement" formed for the Australian world.[262]

This covenant bound the subscribers to reject convict labour afterwards arriving; to employ their powers electoral, official, and legislative, for the extinction of transportation; and to afford their utmost assistance to all who might suffer in the lawful promotion of the cause. Another article, pledging non-intercourse with obstinate transportationists, was expunged on the motion of Messrs. West and Stawell, as scarcely within the range of moral force, and needless in the state of public feeling. To frame a confederation securing perfect independence of action in the separate colonies, and the effective co-operation of all, was a moredifficult task. This, was, however, fully accomplished. The members, admitted by subscription alone, elected the provincial councils, who appointed their delegates. These formed the general conference. This body enacted the rules of united operation; they appointed an executive board to carry them out, and nominated gentlemen in London to direct operations in Great Britain. The local councils retaining control over the funds collected within their bounds were authorised to contribute for common purposes, and to appoint paid delegates to carry home their remonstrances to the English government and people. Such was the constitution of the League, which may hereafter suggest the union of the colonies under the sanction of the crown. The delegates adopted addresses to the British and the Australian public. To the colonies they depicted the vast moment of this agitation, and invoked their instant and earnest aid, closing with these solemn appeals: "Ponder deeply, fellow colonists of Australia, the prospect that lies before you. Consider well the moral and even the merely economical relations of the question. Reflect on the subject of the administration of justice, not only with reference to its enormous expense, but also as to the social effect of the ceaseless and weary labours of our criminal courts. Reflect on the vast and gloomy gaols that must meet our eyes in a noble and fruitful land, where prosperity should have banished almost the remembrance of crime; on the arrays of our police that ever remind us of the noxious elements of our communities; and think, too, of our daily press that might edify a virtuous public by accounts of incessant progress and well doing, but which, faithful to the cause of truth, must ever teem with the harrowing evidence of the depravity of our fellow-beings. And again turn to the scene that so frequently closes upon the career of the convict. Consider the helpless pauperism of improvidence; constitutions ruined by vice and profligacy; asylums and hospitals overflowing with degraded and wretched outcasts, descending to the grave without respect and without sympathy, quitting a world which they had only dishonoured and abused."

"In conclusion, fellow colonists, with reference to this momentous question, let us not argue with the home government either on the law of the case, whether that be with them or with us, or on the relative power of the contending parties. The accidents of law or force, whichever way they might prevail, can never remedy the social disorders we complain of. Let us then represent to the British government, to the British parliament, and to the British public, that in the present state and prospects of the world, it is a great moral obligation on the part of our parent state, not to eject her criminals into other societies already charged with their own, but to retain and manage them within herself."

In their address to the united kingdom they united remonstrance with warning: "We ask our fellow countrymen" said they, "to look at the map of the world; to measure the distance between England and her Australian dependencies; to mark their geographical relations with gigantic empires; and to estimate aright their future importance as elements of her wealth, greatness, and glory. If the colonists are compelled to own that their interests may be ruined by an official despatch—that their name and fame may be dishonoured, to relieve the gaols of Great Britain—if their youth cannot visit any country under an Australian flag without being made to feel that they were born in a degraded section of the globe, we are at a loss to imagine what advantages conferred by the sovereignty of Great Britain can compensate for the stigma of its brand."

"We address the words of supplication, not of threatening. A few short years, and that which is now a grievance will grow into a quarrel. By instant concession, an act of justice will become a monument of imperial clemency. But these colonies are solemnly pledged, each to the other, by their mutual interests,—their future destinies,—their fellowship of weal and woe,—and now by their League and Solemn Engagement, to achieve the freedom of their common country."

Having arranged the plan of action, the association convened a meeting of the Victorians. On the memorable 1st of February, 1851, the league was solemnly inaugurated, being signed by the Tasmanian delegates, and by the mayor, William Nicholson, Esq., William Westgarth, Esq., M.L.C., and Montgomery Bell, Esq., alderman, as delegates for Melbourne. This done, a banner of deep blue, spangled with the Southern cross, adorned with the national colors, and bordered with white on which the date of the confederation was traced in letters of gold, was unfurled and greeted with the loud acclamations of the assembly. A council of nine was afterwards elected by ballot, composed of the most eminent citizens, the mayor being president.[263]

It was determined to raise £20,000 as a league fund in the Australian colonies. Warmed by the advice and example of Mr. Bell, the opulent supporters of the cause resolved to take the chief burden on themselves. The delegates for Melbourne each subscribed one hundred guineas. Mr. Moor, the member for Port Phillip, added fifty to this sum as a special token of his sympathy with Tasmania. Thirty houses of business followed with one hundred guineas each. The mayor of Geelong, Dr. Thompson, set an example of similar liberality. A thousand persons met the delegates in that town; formed their own council, and embraced the league with enthusiasm. In less than a month nearly £7,000 was subscribed in Victoria alone.

But while the people were thus liberal in promoting the social freedom, their benevolence was drawn into another channel. A mournful visitation desolated the homes, and destroyed the lives of several of their fellow citizens. On the 6th of February, known as "black Thursday," the thermometer was 115 in the shade, the sun, obscured by murky mists, looked like a globe of blood, the air was loaded with smoke and ashes, and as the night closed in, columns of fire were seen every where in the distance. The uninclosed country was sweept by the resistless element. Sometimes swifter than the fleetest horse, it overtook the traveller who could preserve his life only by facing round and dashing through its least impervious range. The parched leaves of the forest kindled at the first glance of the flame. Sheep and cattle fell dead—farms and stock yards were destroyed in a few minutes. In many instances the blaze encircled the unfortunate before the danger was perceived. A strong hot wind bore along ashes, and carried them far over the ocean, where falling on the decks of vessels fifty miles from land, the passengers were terrified with vague apprehension, or thought that the end of the world was come. The effects of this devastation were in some places appalling. The Barrabool Hills, near Geelong, a district of romantic beauty celebrated for its vines, and occupied by small holders, were covered with blackened ruins. The whole family of Mr. M Leland, a settler near Melbourne, perished. The fire suddenly seized his dwelling and intercepted his escape. His wife and five children dropt one by one: he endeavoured to save his little boy, but he was suffocated in his arms; the unhappy parent was himself discovered a few hours after, by a shepherd, in a creek, where he had found refuge from his dread pursuer.

The mayor and corporation of Melbourne, then the only representative body in the province, presented the Tasmanian delegates with an address, and entertained them with splendid hospitality. A banner, bought by general subscription, was committed to their charge as a present to the colonists of Tasmania. The ladies of Victoria graced the ceremony of presentation. In giving this beautiful emblem of Australian re-union, "Gentlemen," said the mayor, "I pray you to receive it in the name of the people of Port Phillip, and may it remain nailed to the mast until these colonies are emancipated from convictism." "We accept it, with gratitude," they replied,—"May the flag which adorns it ever float above it in mild sovereignty: the noble nation from which we sprung will applaud and assist us. Such are our hopes; but whether they are doomed to disappointment or not, we shall discharge our duty as subjects, and then commit our cause to the righteous judgment of God. May He watch over our proceedings; may He permit us to add another to those bloodless victories which teach the oppressed to confide in the armour of truth while they warn all men that against weapons of such heavenly temper the shields of the mighty are lifted in vain."

By this time the people of New South Wales became warmly interested in the league. No time was lost. To obtain the active assistance of that great colony was to insure success. Messrs. Moore and Westgarth, members of the legislature, and Dr. Thompson, mayor of Geelong, were deputed to act in the metropolis for Victoria. The delegates of Tasmania returned home. The banner intrusted to their care was publicly delivered at a meeting, of which, Mr. Dry was chairman.[264]Councils were chosen for north and south Tasmania, and several thousand pounds were added to the league fund.

Messrs. West and Weston were commissioned to attend the conference at Sydney. Joined by the delegates for Victoria, they landed in March. A large concourse of citizens assembled at the Royal Hotel, where an address, breathing encouragement and hope, was read by Mr. Charles Cowper, in the name of the New South Wales association. The delegates, invited to a public banquet in honor of their mission, were met by the city members, the mayor, the principal merchants, and professional gentlemen. The immense wool store of Messrs. Mort, decorated for the occasion, exhibited a striking scene of luxury and magnificence. Speeches, such as Britons make when their hearts are loyal and their wrongs are felt, promised a hearty struggle, and predicted a certain victory. A public meeting of the colonists assembled to recognise the League, and dissolve the colonial association. Dr. Lang proposed another covenant drawn up by himself. It recited the chief facts stated in that of Victoria, but added: "And if it should be necessary in the struggle upon which we are now deliberately entering, for the protection and defence of our adopted country, as well as in the vindication of our rights as Britons, ... to have recourse to the last remedy of the oppressed, we appeal to God and the world, as to whether we shall not have indefeasible right and eternal justice on our side. So help us God." A league, based on moral force, and disclaiming all weapons but those of persuasion and entreaty, was evidently at an end if armed resistance were contemplated as the final resource. The earnest objections of the delegates were supported by Mr. Lamb. The mercantile and professional classes decidedly disapproved of the substitution; but the strength of numbers might have carried the threatening clause had not Dr. Lang consented to abandon it. Never was the league in so much danger, it being determined by the delegates to relinquish all idea of confederation on any terms inconsistent with constitutional resistance. A proposal to join the league was carried amidst triumphant cheering. A council was chosen by ballot. Messrs. Charles Cowper, Robert Campbell, and Gilbert Wright were appointed delegates for New South Wales. The most impressive meeting held by the delegates, was convened in the congregational church of Sydney. A thousand persons, chiefly heads of families, and of both sexes, listened with absorbing interest to the appeals of clergymen, protestant and catholic, to principles familiar to the patriot and the christian. The venerable metropolitan, in accounting for his absence, recorded his conviction in terms suited to his office and experience, and in a strain of reproof and warning, which no government will venture to disregard.[265]The first conference of the united colonies was held in the city of Sydney and closed its labours on the 1st day of May, 1851. A permanent executive board and a London delegation, were nominated; Mr. Charles Cowper being appointed the first president of the Australasian League, and Mr. Gilbert Wright, secretary.

The appointment of Mr. J. C. King as the delegate for Melbourne, and other gentlemen resident in London to act in the same capacity, was intended to agitate the colonial cause beneath the walls of parliament, and thus by multiplied agencies to weary the ministers into justice—to conquer their obstinacy by a perpetual coming. It was the earnest desire of the founders of the league to employ all possible means consistent with loyal and constitutional principles, that the blame of ultimate consequences, if adverse, might remain with the servants of the crown. A letter of instructions addressed to Mr. J. A. Jackson and other delegates by the executive board of the league and signed by the president, stated clearly the duties which devolved upon them. "You will bear in mind that yours is the work of testimony, that we do not hold you responsible for the result. We are discharging by you a duty we owe to the parent country. We wish you to state our case; to deprecate the evils we suffer. We wish you to depict the vast resources and unrivalled beauty of these colonies, and to insist on the injustice and folly of degrading them to the purposes of a prison. We are anxious that you should tell our countrymen at home, that here is a land capable of boundless prosperity, that our whalers fish upon our coasts, that we number our sheep by millions, that our wheat is famed in every market in the world; that there are millions of acres over which the plough may be driven, and where the axe is not required as pioneer. You will tell them that we love our native country, and rejoice in our share of her heritage of glory, that we offer our filial dutyand manly affiance, but, that we offer them on this condition, that we, and our children, and their country, shall befree. This granted, every hour will strengthen the relations already established between us; but should the object of our League, so near to our hearts, fail us, should the British public prove deaf or indifferent, or the minister prove inexorable, your mission will have been discharged; and we must await, as best we may, the development of those providential purposes which are often most obscure when they are nearest the dawn. 'England has no right to cast out amongst other nations, or upon naked shores, either her poverty or her crime. This is not the way in which a great and wealthy people, aMother of Nations, ought to colonize.'"

"Never has the question of transportation assumed a greater importance than at the present moment. The colonists are fretted by the vacillation of her Majesty's government, but they are anxious to know that their honor and happiness are compatible with their present political relations. The plantation of new colonies in our vicinity, the now constant intercourse with the American continent, the discovery of gold fields, large in extent and abundant in production, on the Western Cordilleras of New South Wales, and the thence certain rapid influx of population, all make the future an object of solicitude. It may be your happiness to contribute to the achievement of this great moral victory, to the removal of those intolerable burdens imposed by a despotic minister, and permitted by the indifference of the British Nation,—and thus to the establishment of a closer union between these colonies and the parent state."

The chief reliance of the confederates, however, was on the approaching elections. The new constitutional act demanded a fresh appeal to the people. The constituencies of the Australian world were to decide its fate. The issue was no longer doubtful, except where the right of voting was conferred on few, and the influence of squatters paramount. Such places, were however, comparatively numerous, and a hard and earnest struggle was expected in the northern district of New South Wales. The conference of the League terminated its sittings on the 1st of May. On the 5th, the official corps of Victoria, the representatives and the delegates, left the wharf of Sydney, and amidst the cheers and forebodings of many quitted a political connection which had been often the source of angry strife. Victoria and New South Wales were now separate governments. The newcolony, gigantic in its youth, threatened the supremacy of the middle district, while Moreton Bay was clamorous for a separate executive.

But on the 6th of May a discovery was announced, which changed the fortunes of the Australian empire. The predictions of science were fulfilled. It was stated in theQuarterly Review, (Sept. 1850), that New South Wales would probably be found wonderfully rich in precious metals. Scarcely had the conjecture reached the colony before it was verified, and Mr. Hargraves, a practical miner, discovered the gold of Bathurst. It was felt by the former apologists of transportation that the policy of England must condemn its continuance not less than the interests of the Australias. Mr. Wentworth was the first to announce the altered position of the question. He reminded the electors that he was originally opposed to the revival or continuance of transportation, could it by any means be got rid of in the whole Australian group, and that this was no longer impossible; "that a new and unexpected era had dawned, which in a few years would precipitate the colony into a nation." He, therefore, pledged himself to join with them in any remonstrance intended to terminate transportation, and to prevent the formation of any penal settlement in the southern hemisphere.[266]This manifesto was adopted by the former advocates of transportation in New South Wales, from the loftiest even to the least. Gold fields beyond the dreams of oriental vision were rapidly unfolded. The relations of labor and capital were entirely deranged, and the future became uncertain and perplexing. A few employers who imagined that their personal interests would be considered, grew more earnest for convict labor, not thinking how it could be retained, or caring for the crime and misery it might entail. But they were few. More generous spirits sympathised with the general aspect of a change which promised to people a region as fair and fertile, and as large as Europe. The strenuous resistance of transportation had cleared the character of the colonists, and proved that their feelings harmonised with the universal and unchangeable convictions of mankind. The first news of this great discovery was accompanied by the strongest evidence of Australian loyalty to the common law of nations. "The success of the confederation (said the first journal of Europe), forms a remarkable indication of a feeling in all the Australian colonies of a more elevatedcharacter than they have hitherto obtained credit for. It becomes more than ordinarily important to ascertain the exact nature of that moral and social atmosphere which so large a number of our countrymen are probably destined to breathe (October '51)."

On their return to Tasmania the delegates were greeted with addresses and public demonstrations. The settlers, with a manly consistency, despite the threatened scarcity of labor, adhered to their flag and responded with cheers to those who predicted a temporary struggle and a bright futurity. But the agents of the convict department endeavored to rekindle the last embers of jealousy and hate. To the employers they predicted ruin; to the houseowners, desolation and emptiness; to the publicans the reign of puritanism; to the emancipists the ascendancy of the free, to be followed by unextinguishable persecution. All the sentiments and epithets known in Irish polemics and Irish seditions were re-arranged in the convict service, and scattered with profusion. The League was assailed with peculiar virulence, and all its distinguished adherents held up to scorn as religious and immoral men, as hateful for their covetousness and contemptible for their poverty. Sometimes they were locusts, swarming everywhere; at others they were a scattered and miserable remnant—which the government and the convict party would speedily sweep away. The governor himself during a procession through the colony was cheered as the great champion of the pardoned, and placards represented that he had defeated a scheme of the settlers to deprive them of their votes. He entered the city in state—and while he passed under a triumphal arch, Mr. West, the Hobart Town delegate, was publicly gibbetted. But the Trades' Union, and an association of the Native Youth, assembled in the evening, and in the presence of many thousands, the well-dressed effigies of Earl Grey and the governor were thrown into an enormous fire.

Meanwhile the league was extended to South Australia. All the members of the legislature, except the officials, joined in a requisition to receive Messrs. West and Bell as delegates from Tasmania and Victoria (August, '51). All denominations warmly advocated the cause. The largest assembly ever gathered there—and including men who had never before united—carried the resolution, moved by the Bishop of Adelaide, "that the total cessation of transportation to the Australian colonies is essential to their honor, happiness, and prosperity." A meeting at Canterbury, NewZealand, called by Mr. Godley, adopted and subscribed the engagement (October, '51). Thus the five colonies, answering to the stars of the Southern Cross, had raised that sign of hope and union.

The writs for Tasmania were at length issued. The day of general nomination was remarkably brilliant. The principal candidates were attended with numerous banners and long processions. The ladies wore the colors of their parties, and even the children to the number of several hundreds, marched in the train of Mr. Dry, the popular candidate for Launceston. On one of their banners a passage taken from a pamphlet of the day was inscribed—"The last link of despotism is broken, when the children of the soil decree its freedom." The native youth for the first time bore an active share in this last attempt to secure the liberties of their country, and, in a public assembly, to petition for its success, displayed both moderation and ability—highly creditable considering the disadvantages under which they had labored. These efforts were successful. The country districts were in three cases disputed by the transportationists. They polled little more than a hundred votes, but in Hobart Town a more serious conflict was expected. Beside the lower class of expirees, many of the publicans and almost all in the service of the government were in favor of transportation, or compelled to support it. Mr. Young, a solicitor, after several candidates had offered and retired, determined on a contest with Messrs. Chapman and Dunn, the chairman and treasurer of the local league council: more than five hundred votes were polled in his interest, but the friends of freedom carried their candidates by a triumphant majority. The election at Hobart Town, accomplished in the face of every obstacle, demonstrated the strong and irrevocable desire of the people. The day of nomination was memorable in British history, the day when the signal of Nelson ran through the fleet—"England expects every man will do his duty." The speakers did not omit to apply an example so striking. A despatch of Sir William Denison (May, '50), recommending the grant of lands and other advantages to reconcile the less incorruptible advocates of abolition and marked "confidential," had just reached the colony, having been unaccountably inserted in the blue book. The moral choice of the people was still more strikingly manifest, when they disregarded such offers, whether considered as compensation or bribes, and rejected every advocate of transportation. Such appeals as thefollowing were not heard in vain. "Now, let our signal be—'Tasmania expects every man to do his duty!' The first earnest of your privileges must be the utter extinction of slavery in this your adopted land. By your most cherished associations—by all that you hold most dear—by the love you bear your domestic hearths—by the claims and cries of your children—by the light of that freedom, your common inheritance, which has now for the first time dawned upon you, which has gilt your mountains and gladdened your valleys,—by the spirit of emancipation, and which at this very moment is beating in unison in strong pulsations through every artery of the island, until I can almost fancy that Nature herself heaves and sympathises with the universal emotion,—I call upon you, adjure you, to cast off every unworthy feeling, and remember only 'to do your duty' towards your own—your adopted land."[267]

By a violent exertion the convict party were held together until the day of polling:—then they disappeared with noise and riot, and were seen no more.

The reputable emancipists joined their emigrant countrymen. They held the balance in their hands. In the main they proved true to the principles which hold society together, and followed the dictates of parental affection. Many not actual members of the league supported its principles so far as they contemplated the social freedom of the Australian world. Thus all the preliminary steps were taken to secure the voice of the legislative councils, and throughout the southern hemisphere no representative of the people was found to stand up as the advocate of transportation. The proper moment for confederation had been found. A few months before it was unthought of—a few months after it would have been impracticable. The speech of Earl Grey, was intended to extinguish finally all hope of freedom, but struck out a spark and kindled a flame which none can quench.

The representatives were true. The council of New South Wales, the earliest to assemble, struck the first blow for Australasian liberty. They voted, not for the deliverance of their own colony only, but for the rescue of Van Diemen's Land. Mr. Lamb proposed resolutions charging Earl Grey with perfidy—Mr. King sought the same object in a milder form, and in November the whole house concurred in condemning transportation. The Victorian legislature, on themotion of Mr. Westgarth, adopted a similar protest, though in stronger terms. Supported by the law officers of the crown, the resolutions passed with perfect unanimity (Dec.), and they were promptly forwarded by Governor Latrobe, who expressed the warmest interest in their success. Thousands of expirees and absconders, allured by the prospect of sudden riches, descended upon that province and filled the inhabitants with astonishment. Hundreds who arrived in Van Diemen's Land in bondage, and many who quitted it without leave, became by a few days spoil, masters of from one hundred to a thousand pounds.

On the 16th December (1851), a series of resolutions were passed by the legislature of South Australia on the motion of Mr. Hall. Thus, three colonies, by a unanimous vote, pronounced the doom of transportation. Their governors were silent or approving. All, whether servants of the crown, or representatives of the people, united in one voice. Tasmania was the last to obtain the constitutional organization. On the 30th of December the governor met the men of the people, and found not one to sustain the policy of transportation. Mr. Dry, the first country born legislator, was unanimously elected to the speakership. The address presented to Sir Wm. Denison expressed deep regret that he had not considered it necessary to notice the all important subject of transportation, the violation of a pledge—broken by the ministers of the crown, or had been able to announce that his own earnest representations had concurred with the unanimous desire of the Tasmanian constituencies. This complaint he received in silence. On the 14th of January, the subject was brought before the house by Mr. Sharland, who moved twelve resolutions. They recorded the violated pledge of Earl Grey, the protests of the colony against transportation; they professed the warmest loyalty to the throne, and attachment to Great Britain, and they pronounced the unchangeable opposition of the house to transportation. The discovery of gold was stated as calculated to induce her Majesty's ministers to comply with the petitions of the people; "but if it should unhappily be otherwise" said the faithful representatives of Van Diemen's Land, "it is our duty as colonists, and as British subjects, to exert to the utmost all the power with which this council is invested, to oppose, and if possible to defeat, every measure that may be suggested or attempted for the introduction of criminals into this country, at any time, or under any circumstances."

For this resolution none but representatives of the people voted; against it, none but the nominees of the crown.

The triumph of this cause was the work of many and the labour of years. Thousands of articles often distinguished for ability, appeared in the colonial papers, and thus ripened the public mind to vigorous action. Many who have toiled survive to participate in the gladness of success: others have passed to the grave; among these the names of Archer and Oakden will recur to colonial remembrance, A future generation will best appreciate the value of that noble stand made against the allurements of real or imaginary gain, and the children of Tasmania will delight to inscribe the patriot's name in the record of their country's redemption.

But the impartiality of history demands a confession, less favorable to the colonists at large, and which must arrest a deliberate and absolute judgment against the ministers of the crown. The voice of employers too long favored transportation, and their temporary interests were preferred to their ultimate welfare. The press visited the friends of social freedom with sarcasm and contempt, and described them as purists and fanatics. Until the last ten years the colonial will has been neither steady nor distinct. Emigration and time have wrought a change in the prevailing feeling. Nor should it be forgotten that the first colonies of this hemisphere were planted for the punishment of crime and the reform of criminals—that those who came to share their fortunes, necessarily inherited their dishonor, and that we require the abandonment of a policy once thought profoundly wise, and which was scarcely questioned for more than three score years.

The opposition of Sir William Denison to the colonial will on this subject, his injustice to the judges, and his sarcastic delineations of colonial character, have narrowed the circle of his friends. In future times an opinion more favorable to his reputation may be expected to prevail. It will then be remembered that he promoted the advancement of science, fostered liberal education, increased the facilities of commerce, abated the practical evils of the convict department, advocated the principles of legislative freedom, and, by a respectable private character, sustained the moral dignity of government. But even then it will not be forgotten, that in perpetuating the convict curse, he adopted any argument, however false, and tolerated any ally, however abject.

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