BRETON ' S EXCURSIONS — ENGLAND AND AMERICA.

WE fulfil a don We pledge, and return to the joint. consideration of England and America. and Lieutenant Be ki'oN's Excursions. in New South Inleg, Western Australia, and Fan DiPmaris Land. Though they differ widely in every thing that constitutes simila- rity, one point is clearly proved by both—that our present prac- tice of Colonization (fbr plan there is none)—is as bad as it well can be. In most cases, perhaps in all, the colony inay be said to have feiled ; in other words, if the first settlers bad been left to their own resources, they must have perished or deserted the spot. In every monern instance, the colony Iras been preserved only by an outlay rf publ:c money that would have sufficed to keep its founders in idnene:s at home. In one or two eases, after a frightful was!e of treaseic and of life, the colony has at last been abandoned. When the :ettlement has succeeded, it has succeeded in spite of its founders, net through them. Even in the most ad- vancing of our celonies, the evil effects of the rashness and impru- dence of the projectors and managers meet the observer at every turn, and seem not only to injure the settlement at present, but bid fair to retard its progress until it shall cease to be a colony and become an independent state. As an "ancient, primitive, and heroical work,"* Phintations at any time would be an interesting subject for consideratiOn. At pn,sent, the general feeling through- out socirts, of a want c,f elbo .... . -rocan, end the extensive emigration which is goieg ml, give it an inn:it:lions and practical interest. Availitn>. our, elves of the contemporaneuns mInpeatanCe of the two works before us, we shall proceed to consider Colonization as it. has been, and as it ought to be

ecreuilation a.d it Ipen Um.

The practice which has hitherto prevailed in founding settle- ments may be characterized by a single word—dnspereion. In pitching upon the region to be colonized, various data indeed have been followed: sometimes the signs of a savage, sometimes his half or ill-interpreted words, and sometimes the pious dreams of fanatic though well-intentioned persons, have determined the site; occasionally the imaginings of a projecter, frequently the loose descriptions and vague conjectures of sea-captains, supercargoes, or buccaneers, have been the information on which it was resolved to go forth into the wilderness. Towards the close of the last cen- tury, the English Government proceeded in a more scientific way. A circumnavigator stumbled upon a natural harbour: want of water, stress of weather, or it may be a very natural weariness of long confinement, iaduees him to come to anchor: he sees—of which he is an unquestionable judge—that the harbour affords safe anchorage, and is well sheltered: he looks around him; and —his disposition to criticize landscape being somewhat blunted, perhaps, by haying been confined for months to the dreary mono- tony of the ocean—he is delighted with the scenery : whilst the water is getting in, or the repairs of' his ship going on, he strolls about the adjacent country, in conjunction with a botanist, pick- ing up flowers as in the days of their childhood; and, occasionally turning up the soil, they pronounce it good : upon which a colony is founded. The present age has improved upon all the3e. An accomplished naval officer is employed upon a survey, with able coadjutors of all kinds ; and in the fulfilment of their task they arrive at a spot which they or some other persons fancy is likely to answer for a colony. They make (we doubt not, though some people are more sceptical) every proper observation, so far as their ability extends: but, unhappily, the King's commission cannot bestow a universal capacity—the arts of botany, geology, mineralogy, agriculture, and laud-surveying, are not given by na- ture, much less by man. A judgment as to the climate for a suc- cession of years cannot be acquired by the residence of a few months: the currents of the ocean, the- prevailing winds, the lia- bility to hurricanes, can scarcely be discovered in the time neces- sary for laying down a chart. To have a knowledge of natural productions, and of their value in the marts of the world, would perhaps be deemed derogatory to the character of a gentleman in , the profession of -arms. Yet even this, without great practical ex- ' perience, would be of little value. It would be useless, for in- stance, to tell us that -the country might produce silk ; because . the -production of silk requires the combination -of three things, 1 testimony is at hand to support us; and having nothing of the which are not likely to happen in a new colony—cheap, skilled, feelosophcr about him, and no theory to maintain, his evidence on • and well-trained labour., Without the first, the commodity would be undersold by that of India or Italy ;. without the seam& it. could not be 'valued at all ; without a patient care—the result of a discipline far surpassing that of ships and marching regiments —it would miscarry in some of its processes. Again, if sugar were even Mdigen:ni,, it would avail nothing, when the ports of' France and England are closed against it—not to mention that it cannot be produced without slave-labour, at least as the nations of Eu- roee colooize. But what are these dry kind of details to Lords of' the Admiralty or nc.cretaties of State? An examination such as a family caterer taken when running down by a coach m steam- beat to hi e a lodging at a watering-place, is soil:view data otr which to found an infant empire. So that, after all, it is not sur- prising that out of' so many colonies, founded upon such a variety of data, one of the speeulations of a pienector should turn out the most successful (for Virginia may fairly be looked upon as the germ of' the United States); or that the latest effort of the British Government ehoind be comparatively a failure. But with whatever carelessness the place may have been selected, the utmost care has been taken to dieperse the colonists. In this matter, one guiding principle has Fora fled. " It is good for man to be alone." has been and is the maxim of regal and national planters. With so little wisdom is the world governed (for few can be absurd enough" to suspect improper motives in every case), that one of thern strongest. passions of human nature has been inlisted in the cause of barbarism ; and, as if the auri .sacra fames., the natural longiugs after property amongst the colonists, were insuilleient to scatter them and retard their general advancement, grants were made to persons Nvlio never intended to set foot in the settlement, as if for the sole purpose of effectually dividing those whom time and chance might otherwise have joined. The Pope gave hemi- spheres or divisions of the globe, the Kings of Spain and Portugal provinces ; Queen ELIZABETH granted land to the extent of two hundred miles every way from the spot on which the colonists • might establish themselves ; JAMES the First specified the latitude of his grant, but his degrees of longitude were without limit. When this kind of liberality could be continued no longer, courtiers at home and colonists in the new country got gifts -carving frogi square miles to square acres ; the noa-residents generally getting the most. And what has been the result of this principle of dis- persion? At first, premature death by starvation and disease ;- when, by continual " piecing from abroad," the colony was en- abled to sustain itself, a general slack of prosperity, as won- derful as its growth. Countries rich beyond compare in gold and silver—rich in the raw materials of manufacture, and in the luxuries and necessaries of life—with delightful climates, soils teeming even to rankness, intersected for the most part by nu- merous rivers theilitating intet-nal transport, and washed by the ocean, so that foreign commerce offered itself—are, after nearly three hundred years, in a state of erni-barbarity, and in want of the common conveniences to which the inhabitant of an English workhouse is accustomed. If we look to the United States, we- shall find that plenty of fertile land, an entire exemption from tithes and poor-rates, togetherwith very light taxation, scarcely raises them in some important essentials above the rank of colonies, espe- cially in the inland provinces. Learning, arts, and the finer- manufactures, can hardly be said to exist; cultivation is slovenly; population scattered; and, to come down to secondary matters, though not-less indicative, the manners are coarse, the conveniences of life rare, and its luxuries (except in towns) unknown. Increase the fiscal advantages—add au expenditure of English gold—aggravate all the evils, and say, moreover, that the capacity of defence arises from the unreclaimed state of the coun- try, whilst there i-: no aggressive power—anti you characterize the condition tif our non-slaveiending colonies. If, with the author of England and America, we consider more curiously, we shall find, that in all c,ises the principle of dispersion has been either directly or indirectly counteracted by a very powerful cause, and that the prosperity which has been obtained is mostly owing to a forced combination of labour,—sometimes, as iti South America, the West Indies, and the Southern provinces of the United States, by black slavery; at others, as in the Northern parts of the Union, by kid- napped whites; and again, in the more successful colonies of Australasia,by convict labour. And it is not unworthy of observe-- tion, that when Nature herself limited the dispersion of the colo- nists, the development of prosperity was comparatively more rapid,. as in the West India islands. When the free man can obtain a considerable quantity of land for a trine, or for nothing, no onsi- demur n apparently can tempt him to labour for another—at all •

events, to labour steadily and for a length of time : he will plunge into the bush or the forest even at the risk of starvation. The

master can compel his slaves or his convicts to help one another, and bring into exercise the requisite combination of labour. Hence, notwithstanding the proverbial idleness and awkwardness • of slaves, other things being equal, a colony of slaveholders will • prosper—a colony ef free men will generally decay, or advance but slowly.

Those who are acquainted with colonial history, or who May have read the narratives of the primitive•settlers, will know that

our facts as regards the early period are considerably understated; but many may imagine that those which relate to a more modern time are somewhat overcharged. Happily, Lieutenant BRETON'S * Bacon. • i matters of fact may be considered more valuable. To illustrate •

the rare which is even now bestowed in selecting the place of settlement, let us take his

DESCRIPTION OF SWAN RIVER.

We arrived at Swan River ; and it may be imagined how much our curiosity was excited to see, with our own eyes, a spot of which such a variety of ac- eounts had been published. This place was known to the French long before the English thought of co- lonizing it ; hut they seem to have entertained no very high opinion of its beau- ties or capabilities. The coast, to some distance on each side of the entrance to the river, has a most wretched appearance ; nothing being visible save barren rocks, or a sandy beach, with a dreary-looking country beyond ; in short, a more inhospitable spot is rarely to be found ; and a vessel driven upon the rocks formed an object which did not conduce to animate the scene.

The port or roadstead, called Gage's Roads, is partially sheltered by Garden Island, and two other islands named Rotten Nest and Pub o Carnac, but it is greatly exposed to the north-west winds, which often blow with considerable violence.

The best anchorage is in Cockburn Sound, formed by Garden Island and the main, with the disadvant5e, however, of being nine miles from the landing- place at Fremantle; so that it will always be highly inconvenient for the boats of the merchant-vessels, besides causing a serious delay in discharging the car- goes of the latter.

Gage's Roads are said to be perfectly safe from October to April, as land and sea-breezes prevail regularly during that season. Freemantle, at the time of my. arrival (October 1829), was a mere encamp- ment; every person being either m a tent or temporary hut. Its site is a level spot, consisting entirely of sand, and the "bush" or forest extends to within a very short distance of it. Water was easily procured by digging holes a few feet in depth; but it was not particularly good ; and that which we took onboard at our departure was not drinkable ; I understand, however, that a plentiful supply has been found since and of a good description. The only spring, near tha place was about a mile distant; and it fell into the river only a few yards from its source.

If the site of Freemantle alone be considered, a worse spot for a town could hardly have been selected ! Situated as it is upon a bed of sand, and exposed to a glare that is almost insupportable, it holds out but little inducement for any person to fix his residence there, unless compelled by circumstances.

It was not a little curious to observe the incipient town during the first few months after its commencement. Tents and huts in every variety,—goods of all descriptions scattered about in disorder,—the emigrants employed, some in cook- ing their provisions, and others in sauntering about, Or landing their effects,— many looking very miserable, and not a few equally happy,—different kinds of animals just landed, and showing evidently how much they must have suffered during so long a voyage,—such was the scene I witnessed on landing at the spot on which the future principal sea-port of Western Australia was to stand. At the entrance of the Swan, which is close to Fremantle, there is a bar on which the depth of water does not exceed six or seven feet ; and often, even when the wind is moderate, the passage over it is not a little hazardous. From thence to Perth the distance is about nine miles ; and the navigation is rather impeded by shoals, which, in some places, extend nearly across the river. - On approaching the township, one part of the river forms a lake several miles in extent, which would make a fine harbour if a canal could be cut so us to admit lar„ee vessels. Its shores are rocky, and generally useless to the agricul- turist. Perth, the intended capital, stands on a rising spot, covered, when I was there, with trees, in the midst which the settlers had pitched their tents, or erected their huts ; and the situation is not only well chosen, but affords some highly interesting views. The river at this part is about half a mile wide, or

i nether more, but t is so shallow that it may sometimes be forded. "' • • A mile or two above Perth there are several islands ; and the river at this spot was so shallow, that we were obliged to get out of our boat and drag or lift it through the mud for some distance ' • after which we found ourselves again in deep water, and it soon became fresh.

From this part of the river, to a distance, as well as we could judge, of twenty- five or thirty miles above Perth—that is to say, as far as we could proceed in a boat—the scenery was frequently of a beautiful description, and the banks in ,many places were composed of a rich alluvial soil, coveted with excellent grass. Unfortunately, the good soil was rarely found to extend more than half a mile from the river, and often not more than fifty or a hundred yards. The land, to a greater distance, may be capable of cultivation, hut we lost sight of the black mould, and observed, beyond it, sand and ironstone. -

In some parts, the country was thickly clothed with forest ; but in others it had the appearance of a fine park, in which scarcely a tree was to be seen that one would think it necessary to destroy.

It has been confidently asserted that the land is generally so scantily wooded that there are not more than two trees to the acre ! Nothing can be more ab- surd; for it is only here and there that such is the case, the country being more .tommonly what is denominated "open forest," with spots where the trees are very close together. We made a point of landing wherever we perceived an indication of good land; and frequently discovered the holes which had been dug by those who had preceded us, in order to ascertain the nature of the soil, and saw at once the cause why some persons had been so greatly deceived. Instead of proceeding in a direct line from the river, they had, in consequence of their ignorance of its course, passed partly across an elbow, or bend, formed by it, without being • Aware that they were all the time not far from its banks ; so that they were led to believe the black mould extended several miles from, instead of along it.

The Canning falls into the Swan a little below Perth, on the opposite side, and in most of its features resembles that river ; but it is smaller.

• Our party ascended the stream as far as the fallen trees permitted, which was not more, I think, than fifteen or sixteen miles from its confluence with the 'Swan. Its banks are highly picturesque—often romantic ; and it struck me 'there was rather a larger proportion of good soil than on the last-named river ; but even on the Canning, it extends not further than from half to three quarters of a mile, and very seldom so far.

Between Perth and Freemantle, the land, in an agricultural point of -view, is almost worthless, if we except a few small spots; the greater portion of it consisting of sands or sandstone covered with trees and underwood. The base of the Darling range approaches to within a very few miles of Perth, but the declivities of these hills had not the appearance of being parti- • eularly abrupt; and their elevation is considered to be only about 1,200 feet, which I am inclined to believe is somewhat underrated. Their aspect is triste and displeasing. How far inland the range extends is not known ; but sorne officers had gone up the Canning as far as they could in a boat, and then walked, according to. their statement, upwards of forty miles ; when, seeing no apparent termination to the range, and their provisions being well nigh exhausted, they were obliged to retrace their step?.

They said (and there is every reason to believe their information to be cor- rect) that the soil was bad or indifferent, excepting sometimes at the bottom of a valley or ravine ; nor did they see much land adapted even for the purposes of _grazing ; indeed their account of the interior was far from cheering. On the Canning, we fell in with twenty-one of the a6origines, a greater num- ber than had been previously seen in a body. They were of good height, straight-limbed, very slightly made and appeared to be extremely active. As though they were not naturally sufficiently ugly, many of them had thrust a feather, a bone, or a piece of wood through the septum of the nose; and the same practice was observed on various parts of the east coast by Cook's people, who gave to the ornament the appellation of spritsail-yard. Of their women we were unable to get more than a transitory glimpse, as the natives seemed to be either afraid or jealous of us, and therefore kept them concealed, although not far off, a sable head occasionally showing itself amidst the bushes whenever that inquisitiveness so natural to the sex was excited. Nevertheless, these men were ever ready to make off with our own women, as was afterwards proved more than once. They repeated all we said, and imitated all our actions ; and an amusing instance of the former propensity, occurred to a party while on their way up the same river. At a spot where they had no ex- pectation of meeting with any person, they heard a cry of "Go It, ye cripples, crutches are cheap ! " On looking about them, they observed some of the na- tives emerge from the forest, one of whom must have heard an officer use the expression when exploring the country, and not improbably fancied it was our mode of salutation.

Such are the natural advantages of the last colony which has been founded under the patronage of the English Government, and for which the public money has been spent. But though these advantages are not striking enough to form an agricultural El Dorado, all the land on the borders of the river at least would in. England maintain three or four times the number of people em- ployed in its cultivation, yielding both a large rental and a heavy crop. How then came the colony to fail ? The gallant Lieutenant does not tell us ; the investigation of causes formed no portion of his plan. We must refer to the author of' England and America for

THE CAUSES OF THE FAILURE OF THE SWAN RIVER COLONY..

The last colony founded by Englishmen has severely felt the want of slavery. Those who have left England to settle there, have carried out, amongst them, snore than enough capital to employ such of them as were of the labouring clgsa. The capital taken out, in seeds, implements, cattle, sheep awl horses, cannot have been less, in money value, than .

200,0001. • and the labourers must have amounted to a thousand at the very lowest. What is become of all that capital and all those labourers? The greater part of the capital has perished ; some few of the labourers have died of hanger ; some, falling into extreme want, have been glad to escape to Van Dieman's Land, where there are slaves; and the re- mainder are independent landowners, isolated, not well supplied with even the necessaries of life, and as wild as Englishmen could become in so short a time. This colony may prosper in the course of years ; but, for the present, it must be considered, when compared with the expectations of those who founded it, a decided failure. Why this failure, with all the elements of success—a fine climate, plenty of good land [in proportion, perhaps, to the population], plenty of capital and enough labourers? The explanation is easy. In this colony, there never has been a class of labourers. Those who went out as labourers no sooner reached the colony than they were tempted by the superabundance of good land to become landowners. One of the founders of the colony, Mr. Peel, who, it is said, took out a capital of 50,0001. and three hundred persons of the labouring class, men, women' and children, has been represented as left without a servant to make his bed or fetch him water from the river.* The writer of the first book concerning this colony states, that landing in Cockburn Sound with goods taken from England, he did, with some difficulty, procure workmen to place his goods under a tent ; but that there, for want of workmen to remove them, they remained till they were spoiled, as the tent became rotten. In such a state of things it was impossible to preserve capital. While Mr. Peel was without servants, his capital perished ; but as soon as his capital had perished for want of servants, those who had been his servants insisted on his giving them employ- ment. Having tried a life of complete independence, and felt the pains of hunger, they now wanted to become labourers again. At one time, Mr. Peel was to be seen imploring his servants to remain with him; at another, escaping from their fury at his not being able to give them work. The same thing hap- pened in many cases. In each case it was owing to the facility with which people—labourers when they reached the colony—became independent land- owners. Some of these independent landowners died of hunger ;-1. and at a time, too, when, as it happened, a large supply of food had just reached the colony from Van Dieman's Land. Why were they starved? Because where they had settled was not known to the Governor, or even to themselves ; for, though they could say " we are here," they could not tell where any one else was: such was the dispersion of these colonists in consequence of superabundance of good land. Many of them, both capitalists and labourers, capitalists with capital and la- bourers without work, have removed to Van Dieman's Land ; the cost of passage for the latter being defrayed by settlers in that slave-holding prosperous island. Some have wandered from the original place of settlement towards King George's Sound, in search, say they, of better land. Others, men of unusual courage and energy, remain on the banks of the Swan River, knowing well that the par- tial ruin of this colony is not owing to want of good land. These, one of whose chief inducements to settling in this colony was an undertaking from the English Government that no convicts should be sent thither, are now begging for a supply of convict labour. They want slaves. They want labour which shall be constant and liable to combination in particular works. Having this, they would raise a net produce and have division of employments. Not having con- vict labour, they will long for African slaves; and would obtain them, too, if public opinion in England did not forbid it.

Quitting Swan River, let us pass on to New South Wales. This colony is described by every one as flourishing ; and flourishing it undoubtedly is. But it must be remembered that it was origi- nally settled by convicts, who were forced to labour in combination, and who were supported for many years by supplies sent from England. This system of labour is still continued,—the colonists, wisely, dreading its abolition; and till within these few years (and for aught we know at present), nearly a quarter of a million of English taxes was spent in encouraging colonial industry. Yet some of the original taint forces itself upon so superficial an ob- server as Lieutenant BRETON. We pick out a passage or two at random, to show that common care—such care as a Minister would use in purchasing an estate—was not originally _taken to investi- gate the nature of the soil, climate, &c.; and tha.'t.the system of large grants, favouritism, and reserves, has worked is working, and will work, disadvantageously for the Australian colonies.

There is still a vat portion of forest in the immediate neighbourhood of Syd-

• My authority for this statement is a gentleman, lately in England, who went to the Swan River as Mr. Peel's agent. My authority is Mr. Thies agent, Mr. Elruiley. trey ; and a very long period may be expected to elapse ere it can be cleared off; for the returns would not repay the expense of cultivating such a soil as that found in this part of the colony. It is in patches that the good soil is seen ; and some spots on the Paramatta river are particularly fertile ; but more commonly sand and ironstone prevail, with frequently a mixture of the two. As to the fine land at Botany Bay, I know not what has become of it. Banks's Meadows still remain, but the rich soil seen by him and Cook seems to have disappeared, if it ever existed.

The soil on the banks of the river Hunter (and I believe this is general blI over the colony of New South Wales), is so aluminous, that the water procured from wells is not often fit to drink. I saw two wells, one not less than a hundred and twenty feet in depth, and the other above sixty ; the water in the former was bad, and in the latter nauseous.

This circumstance causes great inconvenience to the settlers generally, as they are obliged to employ a man with a dray, and from two to six or eight bullocks, to bring a supply from the nearest stream or creek, which may be at some dis- tance from the house. I have known instances where' in dry weather, there is not a drop of water within from three to four miles; but this was not on the Hunter.

The whole of New• Holland, as far as• it is known, is liable to droughts, and these constitute the principal, perhaps only decided, objection to the climate. The last, distinguished by the title of " The Great Drought," lasted finer years (1826, 27, 28, 29) ; and many of the settlers were nearly ruined by it. One gentleman is said to have lost.-fire consecutive crops. The longest period, (luring which no rain fell, was six months and thirteen days; but 1 heald that in one instance (I forget what part of the colony) only a few light and very trifling showers fell during eight months. Sometimes tremendous hailstorms Occur, and hailstones have fallen as large as pullet's eggs, killing lambs and poultry, and cutting up the corn most com- pletely. One of these took place in Argyle last October (1832), answering to our April ; and some idea may be formed of the havoc it must have caused, by

the knowledge that many of the h i ailstnnes were two inches and a half n length, and one inch in diameter. Its effects were felt over a tract of country five miles in width, but of what length I cannot say ; and the direction was from a part of the colony very little located. Some of the sheep were badly injured; and birds killed ; and the trees were cut, or broken, in a very remark- able manner.

There are the materials of a most exc• ellent society in this pa• rt of the colony, but, unluckily, the farms are so far asunder, that is to say, from eight to fifteen miles, that a free intercourse cannot well be kept up; and then again, many of the respectable proprietors of land reside in Sydney. Whether this absence of social communication would accord with the feelings and ideas of every one, I cannot of course say : some of the settlers themselves seem to have no objec- tion to a retired life.; but they are all married, which makes a wonderful dif- ference.

In these regions, which pass • through all the varieties of climate included in an extent of thirty-eight degrees, or 2,280 geographical miles, and are fitted for yielding all the productions of the temperate and intertropical climes, there is no question that the inhabitants, in the course of time, will be enabled to supply themselves with numberless comforts and luxuries which colonies less happily situated are obliged to procure from distant parts. Even during the brief period which has elapsed since their settlement, an unexamp'ed progress has been made, and with unlooked-for success, in respect to the location and cultivation of land, as well as the iotroduction and increase of animals and plants; the exports are also increasing in a ratio that is extraordinary; the powerful agency of steam has been hrought.into use, aud, throegh the laudable exertioes of numeeogs ener- getic individuals, the iMmense resources of the colonies are gradually becoming

developed. . .

Many generations, however, will roll away before the country can become thickly inhabited. For, in the first place, there are vast tracts that, in all proba- bility, will never be, reclaimed so as toyield any profit to the husbandman ; these intervene between the fertile spots that are scattered through the colonies, and, in some places, extend so far, that the traveller may pass over fifteen or twenty miles, and scarcely see an acre of good soil. Particular spots will (some have already) become populous- and districts, once thinly. inhabited by wandering savages, are already covered with. farms, where a multitude of flocks and herds are seen ; but these are far asunder, and peculiarly. situated.

In the second place, the grants or farms are of such magnitude, that unless subdivided, which, from the nature of the land, is not likely to happen, this alone would prevent the country from becoming populated to the extent observed where the land is more adapted for tillage than for pasturage.

So much for Colonization as it is and has been. We shall next week endeavour to point out What it ought be. In the mean time, we may recommend Lieutenant BRETON'S book to the public, as a work of practical information, intermingled with much amusing matter regarding the convicts and the aborigines, conveyed in a light and unpretending style.