CANDIDATES FOR TRANSPORTATION.
"'... Whilst America was subject to England, British offenders, political or otherwise, were transported to the southern colonies of that continent, or to the West Indies, where they were in the first instance employed chiefly in the production of tobacco. The consumption of tobacco was large, and the revenue derived therefrom considerable, Virginia and Maryland being the chief producers. The American colonies having revolted against British rule in 1776, and after a long and severe struggle gained their independence, England sought a new field for colonization, and first tried the coast of Africa, but found it unhealthy. Her attention was then turned to Australia, the eligibility of which for the purpose had been spreading since Cook's famous voyage thither in 1768. Accordingly, a fleet of eleven sail, carrying more than one thousand souls, was assembled at Portsmouth, in the month of March, 1787, to proceed to Australia.'"
Fred read the foregoing extract to Frank. The latter listened earnestly, and then remarked:
"I don't see that times have greatly changed after all. England still sends us her convicts and paupers, the only difference being that she turns them loose upon us instead of deriving something for their forced labor. Her example is followed by most of the continental nations, and thus we get the human rubbish of the Old World, just as we did before the Revolutionary War."
Fred then went on to say that the colony by which Sydney was founded numbered one thousand and thirty persons, including seven hundred and fifty-seven convicts, among whom were one hundred and ninety-two women and eighteen children. Besides the officers, there were one hundred and sixty soldiers, with forty of their wives; the live-stock included cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, and goats; and there was a large stock of seeds from the tropic and temperate zones. The natives did not oppose the landing, as they supposed it was only temporary. When they found that the settlement was a permanent one they became hostile, and many murders resulted, caused, no doubt, in great measure by the outrages committed by the convicts. Ships from England followed steadily, each one bringing its quota of convicts, and in a few years Sydney had quite a city-like appearance.[9]
Free emigration began a few years after the establishment of the colony, as just described, the earliest of the free emigrants being principally men of capital, who came with the object of employing the convicts under contracts with the Government. Free emigrants of more modest means naturally followed, and in course of time the free settlers were more numerous than the convicts and military combined. In 1831, out of 76,793 persons in the colony 27,831 were convicts.
SYDNEY AND ITS HARBOR.