NATIVE SCHOOLS. 239 



long. 1^^30'20" West of Sydney. The cool air 

 of this range, the greatest elevation of which is ^200 

 feet, was very pleasant after a ride over the heated 

 plain. I was agreeably surprised to find in the 

 heart of the hills a most comfortable inn, where 

 our party sat down to a luncheon of lamb chops and 

 green peas, with a beautiful cool bottle of sherry. 

 Such is the march of civilization ! To the north of 

 our road was a lead mine, which will ultimately be 

 a source of great riches to the colony ; for which, 

 indeed, nature has done much in the way of mineral 

 productions. 



I was greatly pleased with the apparent success 

 that had attended the schools of the German Missio- 

 naries ; and especially with the aptitude for learning 

 displayed by both boys and girls ; but my pleasure 

 would have been much increased had I not felt con- 

 vinced thatthe system of education adopted, possessed 

 many serious defects. In the first place, sufficient 

 care did not seem to have been taken to recommend 

 the schools to the natives, and to induce them 

 to send their children voluntarily. That it was 

 necessary to resort to some means of effecting 

 this beyond mere persuasion, will be evident when 

 we recollect how useful even the youngest member 

 of an Australian family is to its parents. Almost as 

 soon as the child begins to walk, certainly as soon 

 as it is capable of receiving instruction, light tasks, 

 even in the hunting expeditions, are allotted to 

 it ; so that, to remove either boys or girls, and take 

 them to school, is, in reality, to deprive their friends 



