discussions and questions not without peril.
Mr. Backhouse, before leaving the colony, renewed his visit as the envoy
of the government, to heal divisions which had broken out with virulence
between the ecclesiastical and civil powers. He observes, that they
principally resulted from misunderstandings, and with this caution we
resign them to the curious of some other age. It may, however, be
satisfactory to know, that in the order of succession, Messrs. Darling,
Robinson, Drs. Jeannerett and Milligan, have been commandants, and that
Mr. Wilkinson, Rev. Mr. Dove, and Mr. Clark, have filled the office of
chaplain.

The religious manifestations of the aborigines are differently estimated
by different minds: by some, considered purely mechanical and imitative;
by others, as the simple expressions of a genuine piety. The evidence of
their worth, would depend greatly on accompanying moral developments.
The piety of a proselyted heathen is like that of a child, more in
sensibility than concatenated dogmata: they repeated a creed, only
partially understood; but they also became conscious of a Superior
Power, and a nobler destiny. The highly intelligent appreciation of
religious knowledge, attributed by their guardians, did not appear to
the casual visitor; and was probably, unconsciously, coloured. It does
not pertain to this work to examine the evidence of their personal
religion, which, however, sometimes had a conservative influence in
life, and to several yielded consolation in their last hours.

In 1835, Mr. Robinson entered on his office as commandant: believing
that his mission was accomplished, he gathered the people together, and
made a feast, in which they were to forget the animosities of their
tribes, and join as one family. Scarcely was this union effected, when
the occupation of Port Phillip drew attention to the aborigines of New
Holland. Mr. Wedge, who visited that country, made known to the
government the barbarity of the monstrous whites; who, so soon as they
touched those shores, wantonly stained their hands with native blood. To
that gentleman we owe our ability to trace to its origin, an
extermination which has kept pace with the colonisation of that region.

Mr. Robinson proposed to remove the natives of Tasmania, then eighty-two
persons, to Port Phillip. It was expected that their presence would
excite the curiosity, and stimulate the civilisation of the New
Hollanders; that possession of a flock, then