ly find ready buyers among the numerous emigrants who are
daily landing on these shores.

The greatest drawback upon the prosperity of the lower orders in Sydney,
arises from the public-houses, of which there are some three hundred,
nearly all filled, from morning to night, with men and women, too often
spending the last penny they possess in the world. The magnitude of this
evil may be estimated from the fact, that, in 1838, the revenue derived
from ardent spirits and public-house licences amounted to the enormous
sum of 110,000l. sterling. No stranger can take a walk through Sydney
without remarking with astonishment the number of these nuisances; and
the list of drunkards exhibited at the police every Monday morning, will
increase his surprise and disgust. So enormous is this evil on the
sabbath-day, that bands of constables patrole the streets for the
purpose of clearing them of drunken men and women, whom they consign to
the "lock-up." These constables, by the way, are extremely brutal in
their manner of handling any unfortunate wight that may fall into their
hands; and I have been frequently disgusted at their barbarity. What
better conduct, however, can be expected from men, nine-tenths of whom
either are or have been convicts? When I was at Sydney, the jail was a
most wretched place, not half large enough for the many unfortunate
beings it had occasionally to receive. A more commodious one has since
been erected, with space enough to allow of the separate classification
of debtors, highway robbers, bush-rangers, and felons, which could not
be always attended to in the old building. The jail is cleared four
times a year by holding criminal courts. The calendar is usually very
heavy, and the crimes are generally of a heinous nature. The prisoner
has the privilege of choosing whether he will be tried by a civil or by
a military jury. Many prefer the latter, knowing that, whatever the
verdict may be, it will be a conscientious one. The civil jury is
generally composed of publicans, and is always chosen by the Sydney
scamps, in the hope that a _chum_ or _pal_ may be found in the list,
which is not unfrequently the case. The hardest task the
Attorney-General has to perform, is, to get together a respectable jury.
When it is composed of civilians, the prisoner is sure to challenge
every respectable man in the box. By this means, he generally succeeds
in getting twelve men sworn, of whom two or three are of the stamp he