ed to it; so that, to remove either boys or girls, and take them to
school, is, in reality, to deprive their friends of assistance, which to
them is valuable. For this reason, some compensating advantage should be
offered to the father, to prevail on him to send his children to school.

Again, when once pupils have been procured, it is exceedingly unwise to
allow them to maintain a constant intercourse with their tribe, and be
thus subjected to deteriorating influences that must almost irresistibly
combat the beneficial effects of their education. But it is needless to
dwell further on this subject, as Mr. Eyre has so completely stated the
question in his late work.

REMARKS ON THE SYSTEM FOR CIVILISING THE NATIVES.

I cannot, however, refrain from alluding to another point in connection
with this matter; namely, that when I visited South Australia, all
instruction was communicated in the native language. My attention had
already been drawn to the subject on visiting Tahiti, in 1835, when I
perceived with regret, that the missionaries, instead of endeavouring to
introduce the English tongue, persisted in imparting instruction in a
kind of corrupted dialect, of which the words were for the most part
native, whilst the syntax and construction were in exact conformity with
our own; the observation of the same circumstance at New Zealand, had
further induced me to reflect on the subject. How much more prudent would
it have been to introduce, at once, the language of Great Britain into
the islands of the Pacific; as, judging from every indication, it must
ultimately prevail over the vast variety of primitive and imperfect
dialects now spoken; and which serve as barriers between the various
tribes. That the same mistake should have been made in South Australia
was the more remarkable, as public opinion seems to run completely
counter to it. It appears evident indeed, that if the object was to
benefit and civilize the aboriginal inhabitant, the right course to take,
was to give him an instrument which he could employ to enlarge his mind
and extend his experience. It was wrong to expect that much good could be
done by confining him within the sphere in which his thoughts had been
accustomed to move; or at any rate, to limit the expansion of his
knowledge, within the bounds of a dialect which was only imperfectly
understood by the masters who taught it. I am aware that the excellent
men who adopted this plan, were fearful of al