had been brought into a flourishing state,
orders were suddenly received for its entire abandonment, which were
carried into effect on August 29th, 1829.

SETTLEMENT OF VICTORIA.

Eight years afterwards, Government resolved for the fourth time to
establish a settlement on the north coast of Australia, with the double
view of affording shelter to the crews of vessels wrecked in Torres
Strait, and of endeavouring to throw open to British enterprise the
neighbouring islands of the Indian Archipelago. For this purpose, H.M.S.
Alligator, under the command of Captain J.J. Gordon Bremer, and H.M.S.
Britomart (Lieutenant Owen Stanley) were sent out, and left Sydney for
Port Essington in September 1837. Another vessel with stores accompanied
the Alligator, and both arrived at Port Essington on October 27th of the
same year. Soon afterwards, upon a site for the settlement being chosen,
the necessary operations were commenced, and by the end of May in the
following year, the preliminary arrangements having been completed, the
Alligator left, and Captain John Macarthur, R.M., with a subaltern,
assistant-surgeon, storekeeper, and a linguist, together with a
detachment of forty marines, remained in charge of the new settlement.
The Britomart remained behind for several years as a tender to this naval
station, or military post--for either term is equally applicable, and was
afterwards succeeded in her charge by H.M.S. Royalist. In October 1845
the remains of the original party which had been there for seven years
(including also a small detachment sent down from China) were relieved by
a draft from England of two subalterns, an assistant-surgeon, and
fifty-two rank and file of the Royal Marines, Captain Macarthur still
remaining as commandant.

PORT ESSINGTON A MILITARY POST.

The Port Essington experiment I am afraid is to be regarded as a complete
failure. Yet it could not well have been otherwise. It was never more
than a mere military post, and the smallness of the party, almost always
further lessened by sickness, was such that, even if judiciously managed,
little more could be expected than that they should be employed merely in
rendering their own condition more comfortable. And now after the
settlement has been established for eleven years, they are not even able
to keep themselves in fresh vegetables, much less efficiently to supply
any of Her Majesty's vessels which may happen to call there.

ADVANTAGES OF PORT ESSINGT