16 THE EARLY TASMANIAN VRE8S, ETC 



terial neglect be suffered to perish irremediably, or by 

 Ministerial succours be restored to its 72c /thus ultra of 

 elevation and prosperity, that crisis is at hand." The 

 harvest had been deficient, but "Why should distress stalk 

 through the furrowed vales of Van Diemen's Land" be- 

 cause the settlers had no seed, when the Government could 

 easily obtain some and supply the farmers on easy terms? 

 Still stronger words were to follow. On May 'JO. 1825, the 

 editor made a fierce attack on Arthurs administration, 

 concluding with the following sarcastic paragraph: — "It 

 is much better that a few supine, ignorant, and extrava- 

 gantlv-hired Public Officers should be galled for their mis- 

 conduct than that a whole community should be crushec, 

 enslaved, and subjugated. Had the former administration 

 of this Colony been anti-commercial, anti-agricultural, and 

 anti-local in every sense, perhaps by this time our necks 

 would have been seasoned to the yoke. . . The truth 



is that Col. Sorell governed this Island with a fixed and 

 amiable view to its elevation — that he reasoned before he 

 jiresumcd to act — that he acted in compliance with reason — 

 and consequently that wealth in combination with improve- 

 ment, respectability, and happiness, sprang up beneath 

 the fructifying smile of his administration. But 

 note well, has a transition, at once mis- 

 chievous and melancholy, occurred since his depar- 

 ture? Have the merchants been insulted? And are the 

 sons of husbandry abandoned? Has the public money, 

 which ought to be always used in public improvements, 

 been lavished on the worse than superfluous dependants 

 of at most but a fleeting authority? Has public judgment 

 been set at naught, and public feeling violated? Has pro- 

 per intercourse between the governed and the Government 

 been rudely curtailed and unwisely interfered with ? These 

 and numerous other truly caustic questions might now be 

 advanced. Nevertheless, as our Monarch's delegate may 

 yet become popular, if he will condescend to learn wisdom 

 from experience, and hencefoi-th legitimately exercise his 

 power for the welfare of all who are committed to his care, 

 we shall at present refrain from saying much which, though 

 deserved, might give offence. . . . What we have said 

 is well meant ; what we have said is felt by the Public ; and 

 what we have said, if properly attended to, will render the 

 heart of every honest Colonist a shrine of respect for 

 Lieut.-Govemor Arthur." 



Flesh and blood could bear no more, and within a 

 week Arthur's plans for retaliation were complete. Since 

 Bent was not amenable to official pressure, tlie position of 

 Government Printer must pass into the hands of some 



