VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY—?PORT JACKSON—? FIRST IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY SYDNEY—?THE PUBLIC-?HOUSE NUISANCE—?SYDNEY JURIES—?CATTLE DEALERS—?TOWN IMPROVEMENTS—?LAWYERS, DOCTORS, AND CLERGY.

Circumstances induced me, in the early part of 1836, to proceed to New South Wales, where I passed three years; at the expiration of which I returned to the Straits in much better health than I had enjoyed for years before.

The voyage from Singapore to Sydney, vi Java Head and Bass's Straits, occupies generally from sixty to seventy days; a much longer period than it ought to do, considering the distance, but much time and space are lost in getting southward from Java Head. Crossing the south-east trade-wind, a ship makes nearly as much westing as she does southing, and of course has all the former to run back again on getting the westerly winds in the latitude of 38° to 40° south. We were unfortunate in this part of our voyage, and got no westerly winds till we reached the forty-first parallel of south latitude: from that point they took us to within a few miles of the entrance to Bass's Straits, where we met a strong easterly gale, which detained us several days. This was in March; and I would advise ships bound from India to New South Wales, in the month of January, February, or March, to go to the southward of Van Diemen's Land altogether: they will thus carry the strong westerly winds longer, avoid the easterly gales that blow during these months in Bass's Straits, and probably shorten their passage ten or twelve days. Up the bold and iron-bound shore of this mighty island, from its south-east promontory to the heads of Port Jackson, we ran with a strong southerly gale, and entered the most magnificent of harbours after a seventy days' passage.

The entrance into Port Jackson is between two rocky heads, called, the North and South Head. As the former projects rather further into the Pacific than the latter, and somewhat overlaps it, the stranger would have some difficulty in finding his port, were it not for the light-house on the South Head; but, even with this guide, the inexperienced eye cannot perceive the entrance till right opposite it. We ran in with a heavy sea outside, and had scarcely got a ship's length inside the Heads, when we were in water as smooth as a mill-pond. The steep black rocks on our right looked fearfully near to us, but the water is deep close to them, and no difficulty is experienced in beating up to Sydney Cove, a distance of six miles. The only danger in the way is a shoal or reef, bearing the strange name of the "Sow and Pigs": on it, however, there is a light-vessel, so that it may be safely passed, even at night.

Were all the fleets in the world congregated in Port Jackson, they would not half occupy it. From the Heads to a mile above Sydney Cove, there is a succession of beautiful bays, with deep water close to the rocks, and good anchorage in all directions. The scenery is magnificent, though, to an eye accustomed to that of Singapore, the green is not quite brilliant enough. A succession of hill and dale, with here and there a neat cottage perched on some rocky point, the soil clothed with trees, the waters of the many bays glistening in the sun, and the distant view of the heights and windmills beyond Sydney, form a picture that can scarcely be surpassed.

On landing in Sydney, the traveller from India is ready to exclaim, Surely this is not a town some seventeen thousand miles from England! Every thing reminds him of home: he sees English servants, English tradesmen, English shops; in a word, a regular English town, with its inns and every thing conducted on the English principle. I took up my quarters with my family at the Pulteney Hotel, where we were made very comfortable, and found the terms moderate: the only thing that disappointed us was, the smallness of the bed-rooms. Sydney is a regularly built town, its spacious streets running at right angles with each other. The houses are well built, close to each other, with narrow fronts, and generally three stories high. Here we have George street, Prince's street, King street, Pitt street, Hyde Park, the Surrey Hills,—all recalling, by their appellations, the mother country. Hyde Park, though it comes far short of its namesake in London, is nevertheless a very pleasant spot for a promenade, being nicely shaded by trees planted during Sir R. Bourke's government, and is an ornament to the town. "Government Domain" is a piece of ground in the rear of the Governor's house, reserved by Government for a garden and pleasure-grounds: it is tastefully laid out, and intersected with numerous walks, which are open to the public; and many a pleasant party is formed by the industrious classes, who have only Sunday to spare for a little recreation in the open air. The Surrey Hills are being fast covered with gentlemen's houses, for which a better situation could scarcely be chosen. Woolloomoolloo, or Darlinghurst, as it is now called, is the favourite suburb, and boasts of many handsome mansions, each with its garden. Among these are the respective residences of the Chief-Justice, the Bishop of Australia, and other members of the Élite of this metropolis. These houses all command a fine view of the harbour with its shipping and the surrounding scenery.

Sydney has its theatre, its club-house, its stage and mail coaches, while steamers ply all about the harbour, and up and down the coast; an immense convenience to the inhabitants of the northern districts of the Colony. It has a large and well-supplied market, where the gardeners, farmers, &c. from the neighbourhood collect their produce for sale, and where, in good seasons, (that is, seasons in which rain has been abundant,) the housekeeper may procure supplies on reasonable terms. There is also, immediately outside the town, a hay and cattle market, where large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are constantly for sale, and generally find ready buyers among the numerous emigrants who are daily landing on these shores.

The greatest drawback upon the prosperity of the lower orders in Sydney, arises from the public-houses, of which there are some three hundred, nearly all filled, from morning to night, with men and women, too often spending the last penny they possess in the world. The magnitude of this evil may be estimated from the fact, that, in 1838, the revenue derived from ardent spirits and public-house licences amounted to the enormous sum of 110,000l. sterling. No stranger can take a walk through Sydney without remarking with astonishment the number of these nuisances; and the list of drunkards exhibited at the police every Monday morning, will increase his surprise and disgust. So enormous is this evil on the sabbath-day, that bands of constables patrole the streets for the purpose of clearing them of drunken men and women, whom they consign to the "lock-up." These constables, by the way, are extremely brutal in their manner of handling any unfortunate wight that may fall into their hands; and I have been frequently disgusted at their barbarity. What better conduct, however, can be expected from men, nine-tenths of whom either are or have been convicts? When I was at Sydney, the jail was a most wretched place, not half large enough for the many unfortunate beings it had occasionally to receive. A more commodious one has since been erected, with space enough to allow of the separate classification of debtors, highway robbers, bush-rangers, and felons, which could not be always attended to in the old building. The jail is cleared four times a year by holding criminal courts. The calendar is usually very heavy, and the crimes are generally of a heinous nature. The prisoner has the privilege of choosing whether he will be tried by a civil or by a military jury. Many prefer the latter, knowing that, whatever the verdict may be, it will be a conscientious one. The civil jury is generally composed of publicans, and is always chosen by the Sydney scamps, in the hope that a chum or pal may be found in the list, which is not unfrequently the case. The hardest task the Attorney-General has to perform, is, to get together a respectable jury. When it is composed of civilians, the prisoner is sure to challenge every respectable man in the box. By this means, he generally succeeds in getting twelve men sworn, of whom two or three are of the stamp he requires,—men that will, in vulgar phrase, "swear through a six-inch plank" to get him off. It is no uncommon case for Sydney jurors, on retiring to consider their verdict, to exclaim that their minds are made up, and that they will be d——d if they will give a verdict of guilty. Another source of trouble to all persons concerned with a court of justice here, is the extreme difficulty experienced in extracting truth from witnesses. It is almost impossible to conceive the effrontery with which nine-tenths of these men will swear any thing: they invariably prevaricate and contradict themselves when cross-examined, and are not unfrequently sent from the witness-box to prison, to take their trial for perjury. I remember, on one occasion, seeing a father, mother, and three grown-up daughters, who came into court to sustain a charge against a farmer for an assault on one of the daughters, committed for perjury, while the prisoner was released without a stain on his name. The crime of cattle-stealing, probably, comes oftener before the Judges of New South Wales than any other, particularly since the punishment for it has been changed from death to banishment for life. When death was the penalty, many graziers put up with their loss, rather than prosecute the offender: now, the cattle-stealer is shewn no mercy, from one end of the Colony to the other. The Judge has no discretionary power with this class of offenders, but, in the event of a verdict of guilty, must pass the sentence of banishment for life. If the prisoner came free to the colony, he is banished to Van Diemen's Land: if, on the other hand, he is an old convict, he is sent to rusticate for the remainder of his days on Norfolk Island. Whole droves of stolen cattle are, nevertheless, continually offered for sale in the neighbourhood of Sydney, and ready purchasers are found for them, the risk of being brought up as a receiver not being so great as might be supposed. The regular cattle-stealer has stations in the bush, where he collects his ill-gotten herds, defaces and alters their brands, and keeps them till the new brand has healed and assumed the usual appearance; he then boldly starts for market in open day, and, though he may be met by the former owners of the beasts he is driving, he fears nothing, proof of identity being a difficult task, when a P has been made into a B, and, perhaps, three or four other brands have been added.

During the administration of Sir Richard Bourke, great improvements were made in the streets of Sydney, particularly in the direction of the different wharfs, from which the ascent used to be frightfully steep. To remedy this evil, and at the same time to improve the appearance of the town, Sir Richard cut away the brows of the ridges, and filled up the hollows with the rubbish. This proceeding caused a great outcry among those persons who had property where the cuttings took place, and whose dwellings, in some cases, were many feet above the new level of the street. In the course of time, these proprietors descended from their airy posts, knocked down their old unsightly tenements, cut down their ground to the proper level, and built new and more sightly houses; so that the Governor's proceedings have improved both the streets and the general appearance of the town, as well as enhanced the value of the property wherever the cuttings were made.

Sydney abounds with doctors, lawyers, and parsons, all of whom thrive here. The lawyer especially reaps a rich harvest among a population notoriously fond of litigation, and prone to give cause for it in various ways. As usual, however, the supply has of late exceeded the demand; and the barristers do not now lounge in such stylish carriages as they were accustomed to be seen in some years ago. The medical men's harvest, a sickly season, is not a rare occurrence in Sydney, though the Colony generally is remarkable for its salubrity. The last summer I spent there, the deaths were very numerous, and cast a gloom over the place. Influenza and fevers were the prevailing complaints, and were probably attributable to the dry, hot winds prevalent at the time, together with the badness of the water in common use, and the intemperate habits of the people. The want of a supply of good water is much felt. Every house has its pump, but the water is not fit for any thing but washing, and is, for the most part, so hard, that soap will not dissolve in it. Government had commenced laying pipes to supply the town with this necessary article; but, when I left the Colony, they had not been brought nearer than to within a mile; and I have not heard of their being since carried any further. Water-carts go round, selling water at a penny or sometimes three halfpence per bucket, which is of a good quality.

Previously to the arrival of Sir Richard Bourke, the clergy of the Church of England were the only persons in the Colony that were authorized to marry, to bury, or to christen. Sir Richard put an end to this extraordinary state of affairs, by his celebrated Church Act; and now, every one may be married by the minister of his own persuasion, and follow, in religious matters, the dictates of his conscience. Strange as it may appear, Sir Richard's proceedings in this matter gave great offence to the magnates of the Church of England; and the Archdeacon went home to remonstrate with Her Majesty's Government on the subject. His Reverence took nothing, however, by his motion, Lord Glenelg, the then Secretary for the Colonies, highly approving of all that had been done. But the Archdeacon returned to the Colony a Bishop, and, when I left it, was busily engaged in erecting a cathedral by public subscription.