ble; and a few
only of the colonists were anxious to speed that event. Among these was
Mr. Pitcairn, a solicitor of Hobart Town, a gentleman never before
prominent in politics, but eminently fitted to lead the community on
this question. The first petition of a series unexampled in number was
drawn up by him, and offered to the colonists for signature. All its
allegations were supported by documentary evidence, drawn from the
public records.

The location of the gangs exposed them every moment to public
observation. A frightful sketch of their distribution was drawn by the
author of the petition. "If," said he, "you look at the last map of Van
Diemen's Land (Mr. Frankland's), you will see, at the entrance of
D'Entrecasteaux's Channel, South Port. Here there are 500 men. Above, at
Port Esperance, 400 men. Above this, along the banks of the Huon, the
farmers begin. At Port Cygnet, up the Huon, there are 350 men;
proceeding up the channel, you come to Oyster Cove, 250; Brown's River
(just above Worth West Bay and five miles from Hobart Town), 500. Taking
now the main road from Hobart Town to Launceston (the lands on each side
being all settled, fenced, and improved), you will see Glenorchy (eight
miles from Hobart Town), 150 men; Bridgewater (twelve miles), 100; Cross
Marsh (thirty miles), 100; Jericho (forty miles), 100; Oatlands (fifty
miles), 180; Ross (seventy miles), 120; and Cleveland (86 miles), 250.
At Perth (one hundred miles from Hobart Town and nineteen from
Launceston), there was another gang, which was recently withdrawn.
Leaving the main road, there are at the Broad Marsh, 240 men; at Fingal,
400; at Buckland, 250; at Jerusalem, 500; at St. Mary's, 300; at
Westbury, 200; at Deloraine, 300; at the Mersey, 200. In all, twenty
gangs, comprising 5500 men."

The petition this statement sustained desired the most moderate
changes:--the reduction of the number transported to Van Diemen's Land
to the standard of 1840; the amelioration of the discipline; the relief
of the settlers from the expense occasioned by the presence of
prisoners; and the gradual and total abolition of transportation. It was
not adopted at a public meeting, but was published in several
newspapers, and deliberately signed by those who admitted its facts and
joined in its prayer. Upwards of 1,700 persons attached their names,
including six non-official councillors, forty-one magistrates, and many
other persons of influence.

The committee who