84 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



obstructive attitude of the New South Wales authorities towards 

 the men who were seeking permission to settle in Port Phillip 

 that there would be much opposition to overcome, had sent his son 

 James to England to push his claims. This he did most vigorously 

 in the latter part of 1834, by letters and petitions to the Honourable 

 T. Spring Eice, then Colonial Secretary, but his efforts failed to 

 meet with any success. In March, 1835, the Earl of Aberdeen 

 having then come into power, the application was again renewed, 

 this time through the agency and with the support of Mr. Henty's 

 former neighbour and friend, the Earl of Surrey. That nobleman 

 boldly assured Lord Aberdeen that, while all these tedious negotia- 

 tions had been going on, Mr. Henty had found it impossible to 

 stand still, and had actually formed his settlement in full reliance 

 on justice being done to him, adding, " the die is now cast, and Mr. 

 Henty must abide the result of his scheme, whether the Government 

 choose to protect him or not. Of this he cares little, as he is deter- 

 mined to run the risk of being protected ; but what he requires of 

 the Government is that in the event of the district in the neighbour- 

 hood of Portland Bay ever becoming a Government Colony, they 

 will protect Mr. Henty in his priority of settlement ; that is, they 

 will not disturb him, but will confirm his possession against any 

 new-comer." To this Lord Aberdeen replied that he could not with 

 propriety encourage a proposal that was not only at variance with 

 the conditions for the disposal of the waste lands of the Crown in 

 Australia, but also involved the occupation of country far beyond the 

 limits to which settlement was restricted. He referred to the fact 

 that his predecessor in office had already refused to entertain Mr. 

 Henty's application, and expressed his great surprise at the daring 

 step which that pioneer had taken, instead of calmly waiting until 

 the authorities decided that the country was ripe for occupation. He 

 declined, therefore, to give the pledge which Mr. Henty required, 

 but, as a sort of mild solatium for the displeasure he had felt called 

 upon to express, he added : " Although I am not prepared to say 

 that Mr. Henty's pretensions to any land, actually brought into 

 cultivation by him, and surrounded by a proper fence, would not 

 be favourably looked upon by His Majesty's Government at a future 

 period, should the increase of the population of New South Wales, 



