eople; "but
if it should unhappily be otherwise" said the faithful representatives
of Van Diemen's Land, "it is our duty as colonists, and as British
subjects, to exert to the utmost all the power with which this council
is invested, to oppose, and if possible to defeat, every measure that
may be suggested or attempted for the introduction of criminals into
this country, at any time, or under any circumstances."

For this resolution none but representatives of the people voted;
against it, none but the nominees of the crown.

The triumph of this cause was the work of many and the labour of years.
Thousands of articles often distinguished for ability, appeared in the
colonial papers, and thus ripened the public mind to vigorous action.
Many who have toiled survive to participate in the gladness of success:
others have passed to the grave; among these the names of Archer and
Oakden will recur to colonial remembrance, A future generation will best
appreciate the value of that noble stand made against the allurements of
real or imaginary gain, and the children of Tasmania will delight to
inscribe the patriot's name in the record of their country's redemption.

But the impartiality of history demands a confession, less favorable to
the colonists at large, and which must arrest a deliberate and absolute
judgment against the ministers of the crown. The voice of employers too
long favored transportation, and their temporary interests were
preferred to their ultimate welfare. The press visited the friends of
social freedom with sarcasm and contempt, and described them as purists
and fanatics. Until the last ten years the colonial will has been
neither steady nor distinct. Emigration and time have wrought a change
in the prevailing feeling. Nor should it be forgotten that the first
colonies of this hemisphere were planted for the punishment of crime and
the reform of criminals--that those who came to share their fortunes,
necessarily inherited their dishonor, and that we require the
abandonment of a policy once thought profoundly wise, and which was
scarcely questioned for more than three score years.

The opposition of Sir William Denison to the colonial will on this
subject, his injustice to the judges, and his sarcastic delineations of
colonial character, have narrowed the circle of his friends. In future
times an opinion more favorable to his reputation may be expected to
prevail. It will then be remembered that he promote