possessing some capital, propose to
emigrate as the means of improving their condition, is, the society likely
to be found in the land fixed on for their future residence. One of the
first questions I have been asked, when conversing on the subject of
emigration, has consequently related to this important matter. I had only
then to observe in reply, that the civil and military establishments in
New South Wales, form the elements of as good society as it is the lot of
the majority to command in Great Britain.
The houses of the settlers are not scattered over a greater surface than
the residences of country gentlemen here, and if they cannot vie with them
in size, they most assuredly do in many other more important respects; and
if a substantial cottage of brick or stone has any claim to the rank of a
tenantable mansion, there are few of them which do not posses all the
means of exercising that hospitality for which young communities are
remarkable.
But to sever the links of kindred, and to abandon the homes of our fathers
after years of happy tranquillity, is a sacrifice the magnitude of which
is unquestionable. The feelings by which men are influenced under such
circumstances have a claim to our respect. Indeed, no class of persons can
have a stronger hold upon our sympathies than those whom unmerited adverse
fortune obliges to seek a home in a distant country.
Far, therefore, be it from me to dispute a single expression of regret to
which they may give utterance. It must, however, he remembered that the
deepest feelings of anguish are providentially alleviated in time. Our
heaviest misfortunes are frequently repaired by industry and caution. The
sky clears up, as it were: new interests engage the attention, and the
cares of a family or the improvement of a newly acquired property engross
those moments which would otherwise be spent in vain and unprofitable
regrets.
DESCRIPTION OF IMMIGRANTS; MOST LIKELY TO PROSPER.
It cannot be doubted that persons such as I have described, whose conduct
has hitherto been regulated by prudence, and whose main object is to
provide for their children, are the most valuable members of every
community, whether young or old. To such men few countries hold out
greater prospects of success than New South Wales; for the more we extend
our enquiries, the more we shall find that the success of the emigrant in
that colony depends upon his prudence and foresight rather than on any
collat
|