The present state of this Colony is very critical: it has reached that period of its progress, from which the management of its rulers will either cause it to retrograde or advance, according to the wisdom or folly of their measures. The situation of persons, upon whom so serious a responsibility has devolved, is far from a happy one; and we deem it the duty of every Colonist to co-operate zealously and cordially towards the accomplishment of the general welfare. But, while such is our opinion, we cannot shut our eyes to the absorbing and powerful preponderance of individual interests, and individual action. Men there are, who, we firmly believe, have most sincerely at heart the prosperity and welfare of this, their adopted country; and who, having embarked their all on its shores, and in its soil, would, for the sake of their posterity, use every exertion to promote the general good, even at the expense of their own more immediate and individual interests. On the other hand, there are many-too many-whose whole and sole object is the speedy accumulation of wealth, without any reference whatever to their ultimate residence in the Colony, for which they have no more regard, than as being the means of their own avaricious aggrandizement. With these individuals, the Colony, with its resources and advantages, possesses no further interest, than as a stepping-stone to fortune, and as such alone do they regard and use it.

We have said the present state of the Colony is critical; and we need not labour hard to prove it. If the thinking man will reflect for a moment upon the actual and existing circumstances, by which he is surrounded, he will perceive, at once, the truth of our assertion.

Let the old-standing Settler compare the present condition of the Colony, with that which characterized it only ten years ago; and, then, let him search into the causes of the difference. He will find them not so much in the united and coalescing exertions of the people, as in the measures of the local government, as must be evident to any person, who will take an unbiassed and candid view of the subject. But, whether these measures are conducive to the actual and ultimate benefit of the Colony is a question, which cannot be hastily answered, nor, indeed, contemplated, without the most serious and anxious consideration.

There are, however, two great obstacles, or, rather, drawbacks upon any measures, however judicious and well intended, which have operated very materially to the prejudice of this Colony. The first, is its distance from the Mother Country, and the consequent ignorance, which our rulers there possess, upon all the most essential points of our polity; and the second is the peculiar condition of the country as a penal settlement, or, as my Lord Althorp more coarsely called it, a 66 Convict Colony." The whole course of the conduct pursued towards us by the Home Government,-during a succession of administrations-proves very forcibly the slender regard, which is entertained for us in that quarter; and, without pretending to any exclusive or official authority for our assertion, we do not hesitate to affirm, that many of the best intentions of the Local Government have been thwarted, and their operations nullifled by the ignorant, or, what is worse, the perverse and injudicious interference of our legislative Solons at home. Let us briefly enumerate the most prominent of the blessings, which have been thus provided for our especial oblectation, and, then, if we can, thank our rulers for the boon.

We will begin with the sale of land, and the Quit Rents. Although we do not by any means advocate the custom, which once existed, of granting land,* still we decidedly object to the impositions of any restrictions to its sale by auction: it ought to be sold, like any other property, without any fixed minimum price, and the proceeds of the sale ought, on no account whatever, to be expended out of the Colony. The injudicious, and, even, unjust mode, now adopted, by the British Government, of drawing every shilling of what is termed our surplus revenue, cannot meet the approbation of any enlightened person, and, did we not know, that the passion of avarice-whether upon a large or a small scale-whether public or private, completely eclipses, and overpowers almost every other feeling, while it certainly obscures the judgment—we should feel great surprise, that a practice, so glaringly unfair and injurious, has been allowed to re

One reason, why we prefer the sale to the granting of land, is the interest which purchased land excites in the buyer, and the stimulus which such interest imparts to his labours and exertions,-a matter of some importance in a new CoJony like ours.

main so long in operation. The only plea, which its advocates can urge in its behalf, is the appropriation of a portion of this hardwrung impost to the purposes of Emigration: but admitting the efficiency of this plea, how, let us ask, has the Emigration scheme to this Colony been carried into effect, and what has been its result? Why, we have paid the British Government a very handsome sum of money, in order to enable it to transport hither some scores of pauper emigrants, who, instead of proving a benefit to the Colony, have become an actual and most ponderous incumbrance!

Then, again, as regards the Quit Rents.-If we allow their legality, in their present form, (a point by no means established) why should not we be allowed the privilege of a ten years' purchase, like our brother-Colonists of New South Wales? And, why, more especially, should these Quit Rents be wrung from the pockets of an impoverished people, for the purpose of increasing their impoverishment, by the sage measure of sending fresh cargoes of pauper Emigrants, (old pensioners and the like) to this land of milk and honey-this green and flourishing Oasis on the bosom of the southern ocean? Now this practice, so impolitic and so oppressive-is one of the effects of our extreme distance from home; which, while it causes great inattention to our interests in England, produces, in the minds of the people here, a degree of apathy, which we conceive to be anything but creditable. We must say, that if the people think proper to submit to injudicious and injurious regulations on the part of the British Government, and, by their silence, thus tacitly to sanction them,— they deserve their doom, and let them, if they can, enjoy it. But, for our own parts, we do not see, under what peculiar obligations we lie to England, that we should empty our pockets for its benefit; neither can we perceive anything so lovely and enchanting in this Colony, as to induce us to pay so largely for the inestimable privilege of existing in it. If our rulers at home, imagine, that the benefits of prisoner-labour are a sufficient recompense for all their exactions, we humbly opine, that they are very much mistaken; and, although, many large, useful, and important works have been effected, and others are still in progress, under the labour of crown prisoners, still, if one half, or even less, of the sums, which have been “draughted" to England from the Treasury Chest, here, had been expended upon the necessary improvements of the Colony, we should have had better roads, more suitable and better bridges, better streets, better public buildings, and a better state of things in every respect.

The spirited "protest," which was presented by Captain Swanston to the Legislative Assembly, at its last Session, and which manfully advocated the appropriation of the colonial revenue to objects of Colonial utility and improvement, has obtained for that gentleman the admiration of his Fellow-Colonists. In that "protest" (in which three other members concurred) it was distinctly stated, that there was ample scope for the expenditure of such revenue in the formation of new roads, bridges, and public buildings,-in fact, that the wants

of the Colony were sufficiently pressing to require the aid of every farthing that could be collected. But, even admitting, that we had reached that stage of perfection, in which we wanted nothing,—in which all our institutions were firmly established, and in full and successful operation,-in which trade, commerce, agriculture, and manufactures were all fine and flourishing,—still we should object to the transmission of a single shilling to England: but, in the present state of things, any contribution to the British Treasury from this Colony-no matter for what purpose-is wrong in principle, and extremely injurious in effect and practice.

On recurring to the Quit Rents—a subject, at this time, of general importance and interest,—we shall avail ourselves of some very pertinent and judicious remarks, made by Dr. Ross, in his Annual, for the present year. The Doctor has devoted considerable space to the subject, and has treated it, we must think, with great candour, truth, and ability. He views the Quit Rent, as at present constituted, in the light of an oppressive burthen upon the struggling settler. "The fact is indisputable, (he says) that until this day, although scarce any Quit Rents have yet been paid, with the exception of a very few indeed, the settlers, generally, have had more than enough to do in bringing the land into cultivation, and carrying on their farms, (many, with all their advantages, and with every attention and economy, being yet involved in much pecuniary distress) without paying even the two shillings per one hundred acres rental, and, therefore, as far as equity goes, the thing speaks for itself, that the Quit Reut, whatever it might be, and wherever exacted, to be just, must necessarily be very low. In all cases, the government gave a prospective period of five or seven years, after location, before any Quit Rent should be demanded, which, although nothing could be more fair, was acknowledging that the land during that time, and until the settler, by industry, had conferred a value upon it, was virtually worth nothing."

"The levying a Quit Rent to the same amount upon all lands alike, is an unfair as well as an injurious measure: for any person, even but slightly acquainted with this Colony, must well know, that the proportion of bad land to good is very great. This is one of the arguments now adduced by the settler against the payment of an exorbitant Quit Rent, for it is averred, that in emigrating and taking their grants, neither they nor the Government were aware of the very barren nature of this island, and of the large proportion of bad and useless land, which is necessarily included in almost every grant, but especially in a large one. But this is not the only argument which has been brought forward against this highly unpopular measure. It has been argued, that the land originally was of no value, until the settler had located himself, and, by the application of his capital and industry, improved it ;-that, when improved, no farm could be sold for more than the actual cost of the improvements, independently of any original value of the land itself that the price, which unim