rtation, which has rendered the introduction of some unpopular
laws absolutely necessary, to suppress the depredations of convicts
illegally at large, to form a secure and efficient penal settlement, to
conciliate the aboriginal inhabitants, and to protect the settlers from
their fatal attacks, to encourage pastoral and mercantile pursuits, to
foster religion and morals, and to provide for the education of the
poor, to maintain the laws of the country, and firmly to carry into
effect the regulations of the government, have all been measures which
have required the most laborious supervision.

'Yet all these have been far less embarrassing than the anxious duty
which devolved upon me for so many years of apportioning the lands of
the crown amongst the settlers according to their respective means of
improving them, and of impartially considering their claims in the
disposal of assigned servants, for these were measures which affecting
directly every settler's personal interests, almost daily brought his
personal feelings into action in approving or condemning the policy of
government.

'In all these matters, I have felt the full weight of responsibility in
contending with the extreme practical difficulties which have almost
daily presented themselves, and which I never could have successfully
withstood, but from the support I have uniformly received, not only from
the members of the executive and legislative council, and from the
officers of the government, to whom I am greatly indebted, but from the
great mass of the community, to whom through you, on your return to your
several districts, I request I may be permitted to convey my most
grateful acknowledgements, and sincere thanks, requesting them to be
assured, that I shall ever most highly appreciate the encouragement I
have ever received at their hands, the strength which my government has
derived from it, and the gratifying testimonies which I have received of
their feelings towards myself personally, since I received the
intelligence of his Majesty's intention to appoint my successor.

'None but those who have had personal experience of the extreme delicacy
of adjusting conflicting interests--of maintaining the just rights of
the crown without encroaching upon the reasonable expectations of the
people, can fully appreciate the value and importance of the support of
the community as a body. If my labours have been great, so has been my
reward. I have witnessed the