we have taken of the history and present state of the settlement, that it has in no respect answered the desired end. It has neither contributed to the prevention of crime in others, nor to the reformation of the individuals themselves; nor has it yet, whatever it may afterwards effect, even fulfilled the subordinate intention, of founding a useful and flourishing colony.

With regard to the first of these ends, instead of being an object of terror as a place of punishment, Botany Bay has become quite the reverse. Mr. Cotton, the Ordinary of Newgate, informed the Police Committee of the House of Commons last year, that "the generality of those who are transported consider it as a party of pleasure-as going out to see the world. They evince no penitence-no contrition. I have heard them," adds he, "when the sentence of transportation has been passed by the Recorder, return thanks for it, and seem overjoyed at their sentence. The very last party that went off, when they were put into the caravan, shouted and huzzaed, and were very joyous. Several of them called out to the keepers, who were then in the yard, the first fine Sunday we will have a glorious kangaroo hunt at the Bay,' seeming to anticipate a great deal of pleasure." Mr. Bennet, from whose pamphlet on the Transportation Laws this evidence is quoted, adds some other facts which tend to corroborate Mr. Cotton's opinion, and which prove, beyond a doubt, that with the more worthless classes, transportation to Botany Bay, so far from being viewed as a punishment, is even sometimes an object of desire.

As a school of reformation, we have perhaps already said enough to shew, that this plan has also totally failed;-but there is one circumstance mentioned by Mr. Wentworth, which so strongly confirms our view of the increase rather than the diminution of crimes by the operation of the system, that we cannot omit to mention it. By a comparison of the number of persons convicted before the different tribunals in 1806 and in 1817, our author fairly deduces the conclusion, that in the course of this period, "crime has been tripled, whilst the population has been only doubled; or, in other words, that the increase of the former has been to that of the latter as three to tmo." This is appalling; but it will appear still more so, when it is known, that, out of a population of from 15,000 to 20,000, not fewer than 1000 individuals, or one in 15 or 20, were in the year 1817 actually convicted of criminal offences; and this, too, in a state of society where there is such a fellow-feeling for wickedness, that, as Mr. Collins assures us, rewards fail in inducing witnesses to come forward to give evidence, and punishment can seldom reach the culprit, unless he be taken in the act. What shall we say of these facts, when we recollect, that in England, in the greatest year of crime ever known, the whole amount of persons, not convicted, as in the former case, but tried, including even the smaller offenders, was only about 13,000, which is to the population scarcely one in six hundred! What stronger representation could possibly be made, to shew the dreadful state of demoralization which prevails, and is increasing, in the colony?

When we turn to the third object which government had in view, in founding this settlement of felons, that of colonizing a savage country, and rendering it a useful appendage to the parent state, we find that the failure of their hopes in this respect, has been no less complete than the other two. The colony has now been established for a period of more than thirty years, and has cost government from first to last the enormous sum of four millions Sterling; and yet the expenditure for the maintenance of this nursery of corruption has been progressively increasing, and is not less at present, we believe, than two hundred thousand pounds per annum. It is true that brighter prospects are now opening in this quarter; and it may be confidently anticipated, that a better system of administration, which will assuredly be quickly obtained, must in a few years change the aspect of affairs, both in an agricultural and commercial point of view. But it is not without much regret, that we reflect on the very different results with regard both to the morals and the prosperity of that interesting portion of the globe, which might have arisen from pursuing a more enlightened policy. What might at this moment have been the population and the prosperity of Australasia, had the foundation of a British settlement been laid in that new world, not by transporting thither the very offscourings of society, but by affording liberal and judicious encouragement to the voluntary settlement of individuals of respectable character? But however much this radical error is to be lamented, it cannot now be remedied; and the only duty which remains to those who direct our public counsels, is to clean the Augean stable which their predecessors have erected. This is a Herculean labour; but it is not, we trust, absolutely impracticable. No very sanguine hopes, indeed, can be entertained of effecting a thorough reformation, either of a religious or moral nature, in the minds of the present generation of colonists. We do not expect the Ethiopian to change his skin, or the leopard his spots; but something at least may be done in inducing a more orderly behaviour, and in putting down glaring abuses by an active and efficient police, and by strict, but judicious and paternal regulations, vigorously enforced. The effects of a well-conducted penitentiary, too, ought to be tried, that punishment and reformation may, if possible, be made to go hand in hand. The experiment now making at home, is highly encouraging; and although we cannot expect another Mrs. Fry to arise at our antipodes, by her gentle but skilful hand, to extract virtue from the very dregs of vice, it is not unreasonable to hope, that as much of the vital energy of Christian benevolence may be excited, by a view of the horrors of this den of demons, as may be adequate to the task of organizing and putting in motion a machine, which, under vigilant superintendence, may nearly be able to work itself. Rewards also, contrived and applied with judgment, would teach these hapless wretches, that the door of forgiveness was still open to them, and might perhaps touch a chord, which in the heart, even of the hardened profligate, has seldom vibrated in vain.

There is another instrument, the effect of which ought undoubtedly to receive a fair and persevering trial, because, on such sub

jects, it is our duty to hope even " against hope;"-we allude to the ministrations of a well-appointed religious establishment ; -well-appointed, we say, not so much in secular emoluments, and splendid churches, and external decorations, as in the enlightened zeal and benevolent ardour of its clergy. Were the work of philanthropy, which, under many discouragements, is now carrying on in Glasgow by the indefatigable and judicious exertions of Dr. Chalmers, attempted in New South Wales-were the same paternal guardianship, the same well-contrived organization, the same friendly and religious intercourse extended to this land of convicts, who can say what wonderful effects might be produced! The human mind, even when seared against other virtuous impressions, is always alive to sympathy and kindness; and the unusual voice of affectionate warning and encouragement may find its way to the darkest recesses of the guilty heart.

Let it not be understood, however, that religious instruction has hitherto been withheld from the convicts. Mr Marsden, the principal chaplain of the colony, who has resided there for the last 25 years, has devoted his life to the most useful, and assuredly one of the most honourable of employments, the religious and moral instruction of his fellow creatures. But he has been unsupported, and frequently slighted and thwarted by the colonial government. Having mentioned the name of this worthy man, we cannot deny ourselves the pleasure of quoting the testimony which Mr. Bennet bears to his merits.

"Of Mr. Marsden," says he, "I know nothing personally, but of his excellent character I have heard much. He is one of those distinguished persons, who, praise be to God, are daily raised up among us, whose employment of life is to carry the blessings of the gospel to distant countries, to relieve the spiritual wants of their fellow creatures, and to spread. far and wide, the doctrines of peace and good-will. This gentleman has had a most difficult part to perform, but he has done it well. In the midst of despair he has performed all the tasks of hope;' and though he is agonized at the life he is compelled to lead, and the sights and scenes he is doomed to witness; though his lot is cast among thieves and felons, murderers, and incendiaries; though the experiment of re form on the other side of the globe is daily ripening into a school of vice and crime, the like of which the world never saw, nor has the heart of man conceived, yet he resolutely clings to his post-neglect has not slackened his zeal, nor failure his exertions."

We believe this culogium is not overstrained; and it may appear to militate against all our best hopes of the efficacy of religious instruction, that the efforts of such a man have been unavailing But several circumstances, which we cannot now stop to detail, have contributed to paralyze his hand. Besides his want of cordial support from the local authorities, it may be sufficient to mention, that he is not only a clergyman, but a civil magistrate; thus holding two offices, which, however they may be thought to harmonize in England, can never be successfully conjoined in such a place as Botany Bay. The offering of love which he presents with one hand, he seems to withdraw with the other. In the pulpit, the convicts might view him as their friend, were it not that on the bench they regard him as their enemy;-they might reverence him as "the messenger of peace to guilty man," were they not taught to detest him

as the tool of what, to their perverted minds, appears legal oppres◄

sion.

It is, however, on the rising generation, that the influence of a regular education, mingled with religious instruction, is to be looked for with the greatest confidence; and we are happy to see that the attention of the local government has been seriously turned to this most desirable object. So far back as the year 1797, the necessity of providing the means of religious knowledge for the children of the colonists having become apparent, some ineffectual attempts were made for this purpose by two clergymen belonging to the settlement; and three years afterwards a very laudable institution was founded for the instruction and support of female orphans, which now contains about sixty children, who are taught all the common branches of school education, as well as sewing, and the various arts of domestic economy; and who, if found deserving, receive at marriage, as a reward of good conduct, a dower of from 50 to 100 acres of land, together with a proportionate quantity of stock. There is also at Sidney a day-school for boys, where gratuitous instruction is imparted to about 140 children; and there are establishments of a similar description in every populous district of the colony, the masters of which receive a stipulated salary from what is called the orphan fund, a portion of the colonial revenue, which amounts to about £2,500. Besides these, there is a "Sunday-School institution" established in 1817, for teaching well-disposed persons of all ages to read; as well as a Bible Society for distributing the sacred volume; and some private seminaries are kept for the instruction of children belonging to the more opulent classes.

All this is well-but we greatly doubt whether, under the peculiar circumstances of the colony, the means of instruction so liberally afforded can be productive of such a powerful effect on the principles and habits of the children, as to preserve them from the contamination of their parents, with whom they reside, and to whose unprincipled conduct they must be familiarized, even though we were to suppose that no direct means were used to initiate them in arts of dishonesty, and in scenes of vice. But it is, doubtless, only an act of common justice to the unhappy offspring of these wretched victims of crime, to place them beyond the reach of that moral pestilence so infectious and so deadly, which, if not counteracted, will transmit its fatal influence to distant generations.

The only effectual method, it should seem, by which this necessary act of humanity and good policy can be accomplished, is by separat ing the children of convicts entirely from their parents; placing them, like the ancient Spartans, under the charge, and educating them at the expense of the public. We can anticipate no serious objection to this plan. The funds already at the disposal of the colonial government are considerable, and might easily be increased; and the expense of erecting the necessary accommodations would be the chief burden immediately requisite. In making this arrangement, it will hardly be thought necessary to consult the feelings of fathers, when there are scarcely four hundred married men in the whole colony;

but something might perhaps plausibly be said of the hardship of depriving the mothers of their infant families. The general character of these mothers, however, is such, that to be saved the trouble of rearing their offspring would certainly be viewed as a relief rather than a hardship. But were it even otherwise, we do not hesitate to say, that we should regard it as a sickly and puling sensibility, which, to the gratification of private affections, could sacrifice the welfare not only of the community, but of the very individuals who are the objects of them. The right of government, indeed, to assume an arbitrary power, even over the illicit progeny of convicts, may be justly questioned; but there are various ways of obviating this difficulty, which we need not stop to particularize. Perhaps parliamentary interference might be desirable. We do not expect to hear it urged in this case, that to separate children from their parents is to make a fatal inroad on the domestic charities, or that the infant mind is best trained to piety and virtue amidst the endearments of the convict's family circle! It is undoubtedly true, that every thing estimable in the human character is best inculcated in the bosom of an affectionate, well-informed, and religious family;-but, among convicts at least, such a domestic state is not to be anticipated; and, indeed, in the general application of the principle to the lower classes, even in our own country, we confess that we have frequently been disgusted with the utterance both of much ignorance and much sentimental nonsense.

The Society to be found in a convict's family in New South Wales cannot be greatly different from that which prevails on board the hulks, filled as they are with persons convicted of similar crimes. We may therefore safely refer to this latter place of punishment, in order to form a judgment of the effect which might be produced by the change of system we recommend. Mr. Bennet, to whose recent publication we have already had occasion to allude, in speaking of the hulks, mentions an affecting case of two boys, which is so much in point that we cannot resist the temptation to transcribe it.

"These two boys, of the names of Leary and Farrel, were confined in the same ship, the Bellerophon. Leary, being above 15 years of age, was sent ashore with the men. Two days before our visit, he had attempted to escape with another convict, in a boat which was alongside the dock-yard. They were soon apprehended, and were in double irons when I saw them. I was much struck at the change in the appearance of Leary; his former pleasing manner was quite gone, he was hardened and sullen, and would not raise up his head and look us in the face. Farrel, on the contrary, has distinguished himself by his good conduct since he has been at Sheerness; and the captain and chaplain of the Bellerophon spoke of him in the highest terms of commendation. The prisoners have recently subscribed for a silver medal, to record their gratitude to their chaplain, on which is engraved the following inscription: This medal is intended to record the unwearied exertions made by the Rev. E. Edwards, chaplain of the Bellerophon, to reform the convicts on board that ship, and as a sincere mark of humble respect.' On the reverse: To Hugh Farrel, aged 14, for his uniform and approved good conduct-his faithful recital of several parts of the holy Scriptures, the church articles of religion, different homilies,' &c.

This boy was called into the cabin, and produced his medal; his appearance was much improved; he spoke with propriety; and there was a pride of rectitude, and a consciousness of well-merited praise, which, when contrasted with the manner of his companion Leary, was most striking. Being asked if he had any message to send to