THE CONSTITUTION STATUTE OF 1842 285 



began the population was made up of about one-fourth from that 

 island and some 6,000 immigrants from Europe. Thus there were 

 probably barely 1,000 hailing from what was then called " the 

 Sydney Side," and even of those many were for independence. 



Further enthusiastic meetings were held on 30th December, 

 1840, and 1st March, 1841, and every effort was made to overcome 

 the influence which it was alleged the Sydney people had acquired 

 over the British Government. At the first of these two meetings 

 a petition was adopted, direct to the Queen, which carried over 

 2,000 signatures, and while repeating the prayer for a separate 

 Government, was also explicit as to the boundaries of the new 

 colony extending to the Murrumbidgee, in terms of the original 

 description in the despatch above referred to. At the later meet- 

 ing a special lengthy memorandum was drawn up for the informa- 

 tion of Members of Parliament, which made out a very strong case 

 for separation, and exhaustively traversed the arguments of the 

 Sydney petitioners. A deputation, consisting of Messrs. Yaldwyn, 

 Mercer and Gardiner, who were proceeding to England on other 

 business, was duly empowered, in conjunction with Mr. Richard- 

 son, the League's London agent, to enforce the lesson upon the 

 House of Commons, and see that they had not the excuse of ignor- 

 ance if they voted wrongly. Unfortunately, this carefully prepared 

 document and the accompanying petitions arrived in England just 

 at the time when the Ministry in which Lord John Russell looked 

 after the Colonies was tottering to its fall. Only a few months 

 before he had given some indication, in the despatch already re- 

 ferred to, that the temporary division for land sale purposes of the 

 country south of the Murrumbidgee was a precursor of separation ; 

 yet, by the time the strongly expressed will of the people reached 

 him, he was powerless to act. Five years later, when he came 

 back to power, he found the question still unsettled, but so far 

 advanced as only to involve the adjustment of disputed details. 



Lord Stanley, who under Sir Robert Peel succeeded to Lord 

 John Russell's office, held quite different views, and vigorously 

 opposed what he called dismemberment. He promptly came to 

 the conclusion that all the grievances of the Port Phillip settlers 

 would be redressed by giving them a voice in the affairs of State, 



