xix TYPE OF SETTLER REQUIRED 183 



Australia they hang the scions of our upper classes to 

 the nearest tree is, one hopes, merely another political 

 exaggeration). Why is this ? As I read them the 

 charges against our friend amount to these : — 



That he arrives out from home with a great and 

 entirely unjustified opinion of himself. 



That, though keen, active, and tireless at games or 

 sport, he is physically incapable of and unwilling to do 

 continuous manual labour. 



That his ignorance of all farming and practical 

 matters is colossal and complete. 



That he holds certain kinds of work menial and 

 objectionable, more especially the cooking of food and 

 making of beds after the day's work is finished. 



That he is not companionable and makes no attempt 

 to throw himself into the conditions of life in which he 

 finds himself. 



To this the public-school boy retorts : 



That he has been taught, and he believes rightly, to 

 hold himself the salt of the earth, and that from his 

 inspection of the colonist he sees no reason to change 

 that opinion. 



That the life offered in these Colonies is one long 

 drudgery, relieved by very few attractions in the way 

 of sport or amusement. 



That on his return from a long day's labour the 

 worst task remains to be done in preparing his lodging 

 and cooking his food ; with the result that he frequently 

 goes to bed insufficiently, or rather unsuitably, fed. 



That, though he freely admits that the native-born 

 with whom he associates are first-class fellows, he 

 nevertheless has little common ground with them, and 

 that from his point of view they are imperfectly 

 educated. 



