20 Additional Intelligence from Van Diemen’s Land. 
1 can send hither. As our sheep hus- 
audry improves, a still further improye- 
meat may be expected with certainty, our 
fine climate considered, in the quality of 
our wool—samples of which will,- by and 
by, appear in the London market, fully 
equal in quality to any which have ever 
been shewn there. Hides, timber, and 
other goods, the produce of these colonies, 
may be produced to an extent equal to any 
supposable demand. I have occasionally 
shipped large quantities of hides, and am at 
present occupied in salting a great number 
for conveyance to England by the first ship. 
It must not be expected, that in so short 
a period, our agriculture can have made 
any great progress, at any rate in the su- 
perior management of it; but that primi- 
tive employment may be, deemed our sheet 
anchor ; ard we live to learn. One change 
in management we are making, with all the 
expedition in our power, namely, of horses, 
instead of oxen, for draught. The former 
are more expeditious and manageable, and 
the greater expense of keep is not so much 
an object to us as in European countries : 
add to this, our breed of horses, originally 
from the mother country, is much im- 
proved within these few years. I return 
you thanks for the book you were so kind 
as to send me, and shall soon have an op- 
portunity to practice from it, and shall not 
fail to inform you of the result. To the 
Messrs. Ruffey, who brought me your let- 
ter, I shall give every information in my 
power: they are, at this time, in the inte- 
rior, looking out for an advantageous settle- 
ment. 
_“ T have traversed this whole island, 
east, west, north and south. We have 
some venomous reptiles; but I have never 
yet heard of much danger from them, nor 
of any life lost. Our streaked or striped 
tiger-cats, if somewhat larger, are probably 
much the same animal as your old Cheshire 
cats; that is to say, what the European 
cat, bred wild in the woods, would natu- 
rally become. They destroy our young 
lambs, but will not face a man or a dog; 
though in extremity they will fight despe- 
tately for a while. As cultivation advances 
this breed will be extirpated ; and there is 
no other wild breed of any dangerous con- 
sequence, or in excessive numbers. The 
kangaroo rat, the oppossum, the worm-bat 
or badger and devil complete the whole 
list. But I am sorry to inform you, there 
is a race of two-legged animals, heretofore 
found perfectly innoxious, greatly upon the 
increase, and which seems in a fair way 
totally to forfeit their original harmless 
. character. I fear this has arisen, in great 
measure, from the company they have kept 
since our colonization of their country, and 
from the shining examples of morality dis- 
persed among them from the colleges of 
Britain. The manners of the increasing 
native or black population are becoming 
outrageous—to such a degree, that they 
(Feb. 1, 
have not only, on very slight causes, ‘at- 
tacked, but have actually murdered several 
Europeans ; and what is most distressing, 
there has been no possibility of apprehend- 
ing the delinquents, for the important pur- 
pose of making examples, since they in- 
stantly fly to their woods and secret retreats. 
This is a very weighty and most discou- 
raging consideration for us, since nothing 
can be more obvious than the utter impos- 
sibility of civilizing these men of nature, for 
a great length of years. We are at the 
commencement of this misfortune—the in- 
crease of which may be dreadful; and no- 
thing can be more obyious than the neces- 
sity of immediately adopting some method 
of preventive police. 
** T am speaking to you of our prospects, 
and of what this colony may be capable of, 
under the auspices of a judicious and liberal 
system ; for, at the present moment, our 
affairs are ina most unfavourable posture, 
if not verging towards the lowest ebb ; and 
the issue will entirely depend on the know- 
ledge and discretion of those who will have 
it in their power to make a change. Sir 
Thomas Brisbane, from his profession and 
military habits, was perhaps not the most 
proper person, who could have been selected, 
for the station which he had to fill. The 
following impositions were too heavy in the 
infancy cf the colony, when, in fact, every 
encouragement would be true policy on the 
part of the mother country, and on the con- 
sideration of the immense prices we pay 
for all British commodities, to the pur- 
chase of which we are, in course, restricted. 
Twenty-five per cent. was imposed on a 
treasury bill; four shillings per pound on 
tobacco; fifteen shillings additional duty, 
ad valorem, upon-every ton of dry goods. 
All these burdens, with others of minor 
consequence, such as quit-rents, leases, 
&e. are falling upon us, with a sudden and 
truly unexpected crash, and, unless they 
are diminished in time, will go near to 
break our backs. The reduction of govern- 
ment expenses was premature. In short, 
as to these relations, we are still in need of 
the advantages we enjoyed under the go- 
vernment of Macquarrie, and cannot yet 
deny to ourselves, at least, the gratification 
of expecting them again. With such en- 
couragement, I am confident we should 
again rise as fast as we have of late fallen. 
“* We are looking out, with sanguine hopes, 
for our new governor, who, we expect, will 
be independent of the government of New 
South Wales, which dependence, hitherto, 
has been extremely injurious to this colony. 
Our new judge and law officers, we trust, 
will be equally independent of our sister 
colony, the benefit of which would be one 
of the most important government could 
confer upon us. In the first place, we have 
not much cause to boast of the impartial 
justice of our Australian Courts, where 
favour and influence are seldom. without 
their weight ; but you have doubtless look- 
ed 
