BOOKS.

STONEY'S TASMANIA.* ALTHOUGH it belongs to the Australian regions and within a very short rim of Victoria, we have lately heard but little of " Tas- mania," formerly Van Diemen's Land. The neighbouring El Dorados excited the attention of the world at large, and drew thither all the fortune-seekers. The Tasmanians, indeed, did their best to discover the precious metals ; but the most promising exploring party only succeeded in finding a bit of gold at oue spot, which had probably been placed there. However, the Tas- manians would seem to have discovered mines of their own, on the principle of the old man and the vineyard in the fable. At all events, while the great Victoria concern over the way has been running into debt to the tune of a million or so a year, Tasmania has been making money. The colony may rank among one of the few states that has got a public surplus.

Revenue in 1855 £298,784 Expenditure 276,650 Surplus 22,134

The private transactions with the world at large, as tested by imports and exports, seem considerable, on the wrong side ; im- ports upwards of three millions, exports only two millions. Part of this adverse balance may represent imported capital ; for the colony has found a new and improved mode of burning the candle at both ends. The first discovery of the gold-fields took off a good many who in those regions used to be politely called " Govern- ment people." From the returns it would appear that many gold-diggers have pitched their tent in Tasmania. The number of immigrants during 1855 was—

From Great Britain 3900 Victoria and Foreign States 5625; and as "foreign states" probably did not furnish very many of the last item, it may be assumed that the gold-fields of Victoria and New South Wales supply the bulk of the immigration to Tas- mania.

Nor could the people who have made fortunes there do better.

The country, the inhabitants, the style of building, the style of living, as reflected in the pages of this last and some previous de- scriptions, are very like England. The climate is rather milder, the undulations of the ground are bolder, the mountains loftier and more rugged, 'the vegetation both indigenous and exotic bears a more Southern character. There would appear to be more of an established character about the " places freely scattered over the country, and rather closely brought together about Hobarton and Launceston, as well as in the genteel or squirearchal mode of living and keeping up " the grounds "; while the colony seems to aim at better institutions for education than can be met with out of Eng- land. Without the foolish finery or undue luxury of New York, there is a style of doing things which would render Tasmania a more desirable residence than England to a nouveau riche who aims at comfort and respectability. There is greater scope in Tasmania for agricultural investment on lower terms ; a large field for improvement without a:- large outlay, in all the various forms connected with the country—cultivation horticulture, animals, and such fen° naturte as fall under the head of game or curious fowl. The best society is more accessible than in the old country, and more agreeable to a man of the middle classes. A public course is open to the aspiring, now that the colony has got a con- stitution. The same advantages apply to an emigrant from Eng- land with sufficient means. The colony is also a good field for steady labourers who have not a large ambition, for it is much underhanded. It is not a place for the small capitalist, unless he be one of those ready kind of men who can " do anywhere." Although there are still nearly twelve and a half millions of acres to be disposed of much of this is worthless ; the best existing situations are all gone, though population of course will create others. Bad land to a small settler is useless ; the best land in Tasmania seems all heavily timbered, and can only be cleared at a heavy expense : in some places the cost is computed at fifty pounds an acre in a district, apparently in the market for set- tlement, Captain Stoney speaks of fourteen pounds an acre. Thus, the cost of only the land for a small farm of eighty acres would be

12001. At the Colonial rate of interest, the rent of such land, without buildings or any improvements, would be upwards of a pound an acre. Some might do well as tenant-farmers ; but men rarely emigrate to become tenant-farmers. The cause of the rather peculiar state of Colonial society in Tas-

mania is partly traceable to the nature of the country, which re- quires capital to turn it to account. Its penal character had a tendency to drive away men of small means, not only from the " assigned servant4 character of labour, but the stringent regu- lations necessary in such a settlement, which regulations fall less heavily on the rich than on humbler men. Even now the island is' not totally free from convicts, though transportation is abolished ; but they are confined to a peninsula, only app.roached by a narrow neck of land, the defence of which is rather singular.

"As you turn and round the point where the bay runs up towards the Neck, the sea opens'to your view, over a small low bar of sand two hundred feet long by sixty wide ; this is the Neck. As you approach the sea, you are surprised to see two or three stages built out in the water, on each of which a ferocious dog is chainecl.

• 41. Residence in Tannania : with a Descriptive Tottr through the Island from Macquarie Harbour to Circular Head. By Captain H. Buller Stoney, 9015 Regi- ment, Author of "Fire Years in the Levant," 4-c., 4c. Published by Smith and Elder.

"You now come on a level sandy beach, and have just spurred on vour

steed, when suddenly, as you open the Neck, your ears are assailed hi the fierce barking of twelve or fourteen huge dogs chained across the bar, and presenting a most terrific barrier to further advance. Each dog is of a differ- ent breed, but all are ferocious-looking brutes ; and they are so ranged as to complete the cordon across the Neok : barrels inverted form their kennels, and lamps are fixed on posts in the sand in front of their line. Two sentries are posted in front of this formidable array, and two more in the rear ; so that to escape here is impossible ; • still it has often been attempted.

" Once, four absconders faced the rolling surf, (three English, one a Ne- gro) ; the White swimmers were seized by a no less formidable guardian of the waters than the rapacious shark. The darkey got safe to land, but was taken by the outlying piquet. "The guard-house is situated in front of the canine phalanx. The dogs are treated somewhat like soldiers, receiving their regular rations of one pound of bread and one pound of meat each day. "On the rise of the hill, some five hundred yards from the Neck, are the barracks for about thirty men."

The kind of discipline these regulations imply might not be attractive to the settler of small means, but it might be pro- ductive of the good taste in buildings and grounds which the Tasmanians appear to exhibit. There is a sort of proverb respect- ing the scientific branch of the Army, that "the Ordnance know how to take care of themselves " : in Tasmania they not only do that, but they seem to have set an example of good taste in de- coration, with the convict labour at the disposal of the Engineers. This is a picture from Port Arthur, the head-quarters or depot of the penal settlement.

"You next pass the work-shops, cook-house, lavatory, Sic.; and, passing

out of a gate, where is a guard and a semaphore, you enter a shady grove along some lovely gardens. The change is so great from the yellow dress, the clank of chains, and formidable guard with gates and bars, that you can at first scarcely believe your eyes. "Before you stretches a short road with beautiful overhanging English lime-trees; and as you proceed you fancy you are about to enter the suburb- an retreat of some London banker. A lovely shrubbery bursts on your view; a pretty iron gate invites you to enter ; and before you, peeping through a long vista of English and native trees, appears the neatest church in the colony, of correct architecture, built of the brown granite. To the left, two or three pretty cottages appear, with trellised fronts ; and as you proceed'and turn through a sweet embowering arch of the multiflora rose in full bloom, a beautiful cottage ornec opens to your view. "This is the residence for the Comptroller-General when he visits the

station, and is built in very good taste. Here you can wander along walks bordered with the rarest shrubs and flowers of our native land. Anon you find yourself beneath the shady foliage of the weeping willows, known as Bonaparte's ; under the largest of which is a very neat summer-house. A sweet little stream runs through the garden ; and, with very many trees of. dear old England around you, it is easy to forget, wandering through this beautiful garden, that seven hundred fellow creatures, who have lost home and liberty through crime, are in chains so near you.

"Passing the church, which is partly overgrown with ivy, issue from it a charming appearance, you leave the parson's house on the right, and ssue from the gardens by the upper gate, which conducts you to fruit and vege- table gardens of the Government, kept also in the best of order. To the right are three comfortable cottages and gardens for the doctor, the Roman Catholic clergyman, and the superintendent (now removed to Salt Walter River). " Proceeding along a good road, you have a fine view of the entire settle-

ment; a rich glade presents itself to you of well-tilled land, stretching up the hill ; also numerous gardens. On a gentle ascent you conic to the Peni- tentiary, built for the silent system ; and truly it is a punishment of the severest kind. The plan of the building is a circle within a circle; the in- ner circle forming the guard and point of direction, from which branch angles and corridors: along these are the cells. Between each line of cells is an iron gate, with two or three yards, forming radii to the centre : all the floors are heavily matted. A bell is gently touched, a cell is quietly opened, and a prisoner appears with a cloth mask over his face. Two small eyelet- holes serve to show him a guard pointing to one of the yards : this he enters, and faces a black mark on the wall. The doors are shut and a bell is touched ; the mask is turned up over his head, and he walks up and down for one hour ; then he returns in the same manner to his cell : it has a trap- door, on which his meals are issued to him. A chapel is in one angle, and the seats are so contrived that each prisoner can see the clergyman, but no one else. Under the pulpit is an indicator to tell each prisoner when he can leave."

A good deal more information of the kind already indicated.

will be found in Captain Stoney's Residence in Tasmania. It is of a somewhat scattered kind, and must in a measure be drawn out by the reader. Even when the matter relates to such well-defined subjects as the capital Hobarton, the penal settle- ment, the city of Launceston, or a well-settled district, the move- ments and purpose of the writer are not always clear, from a, want of plan. The larger portion of the book is a series of topo- graphical tours, in which the natural features of the country and the residences of the principal settlers form the chief subjects of notice, with slender relief from travelling incidents or the

state of society. Neither are the courses of these tours vary in- telligible, from the frequent difficulty of satisfactorily following the tourist. A map is prefixed to the work, giving a good gene- ral coup d'ceil of the _physical geography, but it is almost useless o. for showing the details of an itinerary.

Captain r'Stoney has received some assistance from Tasmanian

friends, whose contributions vary the volume, and exhibit fuller characteristics of Tasmanian life than anything the author him- self records. One contribution is the narrative of an exploring party to discover the source of the river Gordon, and conveys a good idea of the hardship that must be encountered and the risk that may yet be run in the unsettled parts. Another presents, in the form of an accident in the bush, an interesting picture of the bodily torture and mental anxiety that the absence of a medical man produces. The interest will be found to arise mainly from domestic and fraternal feelings, but the story well illustrates the maxim which the writer deduces from it—that we should " never cease to exert ourselves or give way to despair." A third friend has given a sketch of the most exciting sport of Tasmania, wild cattle-hunting ; which in hardihood and skill far surpasses any- thing in this country. The cattle are the progeny of strayed do- mestic animals, with frequent additions of new strays.

" Very few are aware of the difference that exists between the sluggish animals in our farm-yards and their wild brethren in the bush, or would believe that there is as much difference between tame and wild cattle as be- tween a sweep's donkey and a zebra. The ancestors of the cattle of Van Diemen's Land were imported from England, Sydney, and the Cape. Some of the wildest I have seen resemble the Cape buffaloes, in their dun colour, high shoulders, (sometimes adorned with a sort of mane,) narrow arched backs, and drooped rumps ; as Loudon nays, ' More in the coach-horse line than fitted for the shambles.' These again have been crossed with the Devon and Hereford cattle, and the produce seem to gain in speed and fero- city. But it is not the breed but the training that makes these cattle what they are; for they are in perfect training, and always on the look-out : if a stick does but break they are off in a trot, and the sight of a dog or a man sends them away at a gallop. When they are much disturbed they only come out to feed at night ; remaining concealed during the day in tine scrub, or along the banks of rivers in the long grass and ferns. From tune to time the cattle born wild are 'coined by some unruly bullock escapedfrom his master's tame herd ; and so long as he remains in wild company e shows as much determination and more cunning to avoid capture than his wild companions, but when once overtaken he does not resist with the same ob- stinacy of spirit as a wild beast, which will often die rather than submit. "Most of the wild cattle owe their origin to stragglers from the herds of Messrs. W. Field, E. Lord, and Stains and Fry ; but they have not failed to lead away numbers from adjoining herds ; and be it remembered, that the produce of a wild bull is with difficulty tamed, though brought up in the milking-yard. It will thus be seen that they are not acceptable neighbours; as, besides deteriorating the tame breed, they have been known to visit grain- fields, eating and destroying all night, and getting away before dawn : they are continually breaking down the fences and causing flocks of sheep to in- termix. It is, therefore, an object to get rid of them ; and were it not for the almost inaccessible Places in which they herd, it would perhaps be easi- est to shoot them : but this would involve the total loss of flesh and hide ; besides, it is not so easy to shoot so wary an animal, who willcarry away as much lead as you may be able to give him, if not placed in the head or heart—and the forehead of a bull will turn a ball. Most I have seen killed were shot behind the shoulder."

The writer proceeds to describe a Nimrod in the form of a young Tasmanian, and then the horses.

" The grey appears to have a rough coat ; his legs look terribly scarred, the marks of stubbs are seen in his hoofs, and a thong of bullock-hides

round his neck does not improve his appearance; but on further observa- tion, I see he picks his way with great quickness and activity, over logs, brushwood, stump-holes, and other obstructions, that would puzzle your English hunter ; with short joints, firm sinews, attentive eye and ear, he carries his master easily and safely.

" I was mounted on a somewhat similar animal, but stouter and slower. At our heels paced two dogs, one in colour and appearance a Scotch wily or

sheep-dog, but much larger than the generality ; the other a surly-looking mastiff, tall, bony, and short-tailed, of a grizzly grey colour. For a tong time we rode on in Indian file without speaking a word ; at last my friend looked earnestly on the ground, and, coming to a soft spot, I saw the marks of the cloven foot. C. said in a whisper that they had not been long gone. When I looked round I did not at all fancy the place for a gallop.- *Nur , right rose the Western mountains ; we were on a sppr of them, but almost cut off by a gully of unknown depth, that I could trace round the hill to where I supposed the river to be. I could see nothing but tops of trees, ex- cept a small clearing about six miles off; rocks sticking up amongst the rich red soil, and wattle-trees with their low branches seeming to shut the road op every side.

" ' Look out!' cries C. The dogs are on the scent, and in a moment I see nothing but the grey's silvery tail whisking through the trees along the

top of the hill, like a shooting star. My horse gets his head down, and

away we go. The first bough sweeps off my hat and scratches my face, and I learn to keep my head to my horse's neck. My horse never leaves the track of the grey, and in a moment we come to the brow of the hill. Surely, lithink, the horses cannot go this pace down that hill, over stones, holes, logs, and trees—a cat could not keep its balance ! But, positively, C. sits

back and spurs ; he gains on me : perhaps I held the reins a ketk too tight.

Safe over the creek at the bottom, I soon overtake him, and we both pass the dogs in the ferns across a fiat. Rising the hill opposite, for the first time I see the white tuft of a beast; I next distinguish two or three sidling along the bill a little higher up. I gain confidence up the rise, and begin to use my spurs, though the pace is tremendous : all at once a burnt-out stump-

hole takes the grey up to the shoulders ; one plunge, and horse and rider

are sprawling beneath me ; an inch more and I should have ridden over them. ' Go on!' shouted C., who was not hurt : so, taking a pull at my

horse to avoid a tree, I find that he has a mouth, which I doubted before. I now see, fifty yards ahead of me, a black animal steaming along, with his head low and tail straight out. What my horse is about I don't know ; I-only see the animal and wish my spurs were sharper.

" We come to a thick clump of saplings; I can't thread them, and I can't knock them down. I get my horse's head on the wrong side of me, and as I broach-to, with a lurch that requires all my sticking powers, my friend shouts, Take a rein in each hand,' as he glides past, steering the grey as easily as a dowager would her bath chair. I next see and hear his whip, bang, bang, quick and heavy on the rump of the bull. Strange to say, so far from the brute going faster, he shortens his stride at every stroke, and My friend is able to get near enough to him to take him by the tail ; when,

with a sudden jerk and a dexterous movement of the horse, over goes the bull on his side. This takes the running out of him ; and I now find that he is more disposed to run at us than away from us : that seems dangerous,

so I keep my distance. But young Tasmania, backing his horse towards the savage and now desperate brute, provokes him to follow in the direction of home ; the grey all the while keeping his eye on the enemy. At last the

bull stands at bay under a tree, tearing Up the ground, bellowing, and smashing the saplings all round. 'What fury in his bloodshot eye ! what

rage in his roar. He trembles with fear and ferocity, and waits for breath to make a more deadly plunge ; but before he can regain his power, up comes the mastiff, and with one snap seizes him by the ear. In vain he tosses and roars ; the dog brings him on his knees : in a moment the rope is transferred from the neck of the grey to that of the bull, and made fast to a tree. There he was left, until two strong quiet bullocks were brought up and the bull yoked to them. Then in process of time, though never tho- roughly tamed, he would become a serviceable workinibullock."

These animals cannot last for ever, and then what's to be done for field sport? Import foxes. But that might be unpopular with sordid souls addicted to lambs and poultry. Why not, then, try deer from Ceylon ? There are regions in Tasmania that would task any deer-stalker, and as yet too distant from settlement to tempt the poacher.