| 1848 | ... | 445 | accused, of | whom were | executed | 4 |
| 1849 | ... | 534 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 1850 | ... | 555 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 1851 | ... | 574 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 1852 | ... | 527 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 1853 | ... | 604 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 1854 | ... | 637 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 1855 | ... | 526 | (one of these a woman) | 5 | ||
| 1856 | ... | 461 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 1857 | ... | 395 | — | — | — | 4 |
One must not forget to take into account that by far the larger portion of the population are recruited from the lower class, as measured by education. On the whole we may assume that of the 305,487 souls, 30,000 men and 20,000 women can neither read nor write.
As to the intimate connection between crime and ignorance, most striking confirmation is obtained from investigations made in England and Wales in 1842-44, in the case of 69,616 criminals, of whom 21,799 or 31.3 per cent. could neither read nor write, 41,620 or 59.8 per cent. could read and write imperfectly, 5909 or 8.5 per cent. could read and write well, and only 308 or 0.4 per cent. had received a good education.
The present population of New South Wales, despite all
their burdens and difficulties, furnish an instructive and cheering example of what may be made of even hordes of fallen man under certain conditions, if they can be afforded the opportunity of working and showing their powers.
Confined in gloomy cells between high walls, chained hand and foot with heavy iron fetters, condemned in their wretched state to life-long inaction, the convicts sent out to Botany Bay during fifty years would have cost the State directly, and society indirectly, an enormous sum; while their existence would have passed in silent brooding over their fate, and speculations as to the means of avenging themselves on mankind.
Placed on a remote, healthy, fertile shore, with the cheering prospect of inaugurating for themselves a new era of existence by labour and industry, and thus being enabled to attain competency and respectability, these very same men raise themselves, at but little cost, to the position of valuable subjects to the state and to society, by causing to smile, under the gold crop of agriculture, lands hitherto all but unknown, and thus becoming the founders of a community, which bears within itself the germ of such a marvellous development in the future, that political seers even now designate it as "the Great Britain of the Southern Hemisphere."
A system which, despite the many serious deficiencies caused by individual selfish short-sightedness, has produced such results, cannot be considered by any unprejudiced inquirer as altogether objectionable or aimless;—on the contrary, it seems to us it has proved its utility in founding new oversea
colonies in portions of the earth as yet little visited, the first colonization of which is attended with local difficulties. We have but to avail ourselves of the experience acquired at Botany Bay, avoiding the canker under which the system has hitherto been worked in the British colonies (with the exception perhaps of that pattern convict settlement at Singapore, which we have already described), and draw up such regulations, keeping in view the sole object of transportation, viz. PUNISHMENT BY EXILE, AND REFORMATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL THROUGH LABOUR, as shall facilitate its being carried out in an efficient manner, and suffer ourselves neither to be diverted from our course by the selfish warnings of interested administrators, nor by the objections of ill-advised philanthropists.
With respect to the carrying out of a system of transportation, such as formerly existed in the British colonies, especially Australia and Van Diemen's Land, the following modifications seem to be advisable:—