haracter of these
colonies will, however, depend on the courage and perseverance of the
respectable classes. The widest extension of suffrage cannot be long
resisted, and qualifications for office founded on property will
inevitably break down. But the reputable and intelligent will be able to
command the public mind if they think it worth while to instruct and
conciliate it. Religious men must no longer avoid the strife of the
hustings as inconsistent with piety, or set the claims of religion in
opposition to the obligation of the citizen. Both are in reality one;
and while churches in their corporate capacity stand best when they are
most distant from the arena of politics, it is the duty of all who
reverence the Almighty's will and regard the welfare of mankind, to
devote themselves to the social and political amelioration of society.
Personal character and social position are distinct elements of
political power. The Queen of England and her illustrious husband are
instead of armies: wherever they have moved they shed light and
pleasure, not only through the mansions of the rich but the cottages of
the poor. The theoretical republican is compelled to doubt whether an
example so valuable may not be worth all the cost and prerogatives of
royalty.

The settlers of Australia are as diversified in their habits as in their
origin. Many in Van Diemen's Land are retired officers of the army and
navy, masters of merchantmen, and persons of respectable connexions. The
squatters of Port Phillip are a superior class, although their habits
will require time to recover from the deteriorating action of bush life.
The middle classes constitute the most influential body in South
Australia. The German race are largely interspersed in the colonies of
South Australia and Port Phillip. As they acquire the language they
separate. Their condition improves more rapidly by diffusion, and their
villages are rather asylums than homes. As might be expected the
prevailing spirit of the colonies is democratic: the democracy of the
middle classes, not of the mob. There are no permanent springs of crime:
the instinct of order, everywhere powerful, cannot but be strong where
society is prosperous.

The social prospects of the colonists, though not without omens of ill,
will not discourage the political philosopher. The various races are not
sufficiently distinct to prevent an easy amalgamation. Nationality,
whether of Germans, Irish, Scotch, or E