THE NATIVES. 
193 
liave been taken in this district, in no single instance 
has the settler been brought before the proper 
tribunal 
Many similar instances might be adduced to 
shew the little chance there is of evidence enough 
being procurable, even to cause the aggressor to be 
put upon his trial, still less to produce his con- 
viction. 
Independently of the instances of wanton outrage, 
which sometimes are perpetrated on the outskirts of 
the settled districts by the lowest and most aban- 
doned of our countrymen, there are occasions also, 
when equal injuries are inflicted unintentionally, 
from inexperience or indiscretion, on the part of 
those whose duty it is to protect rather than destroy, 
when the innocent have been punished instead of the 
guilty,* and thus the very efforts made to preserve 
* Upon collisions of this character, Lord John Russell 
remarks in his despatch, 21st December, 1839, to Sir G. Gipps : 
“ In the case now before me the object of capturing offenders 
was entirely lost sight of, and shots were fired at men who were 
apparently only guilty of jumping into the water to escape from 
an armed pursuit. I am, however, happy to acknowledge that 
you appear to have made every practicable exertion for the pre- 
vention of similar calamities in future, and I approve the 
measures adopted by you for that purpose. 
“ You cannot overrate the solicitude of Her Majesty’s Govern- 
ment on the subject of the Aborigines of New Holland. It is 
impossible to contemplate the condition and the prospects of 
that unfortunate race without the deepest commiseration. I am 
well aware of the many difficulties which oppose themselves to 
VOL. II. 
O 
