The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-01-09 00:00:00

NEW SOUTH WALES.

Extract of a letter from a professional gentleman in New
Norfolk, Van Dietuan's Lattd,,4o, his sister in Scotland,
'dated fith of May, 1823:
' I should wish to give you an accurate account of this
country, but it is a more difficult thing than you could
think. As as inhabited country it is quite in its infancy.
Until within these four or five years there were few inha-
bitants but convicts from Great Britain ; but, doting the
last three years, the number of. settlers has been hi:laminae,
and now ships full of emigrants are fast arriving ' • a great
many of these are from Scotland. A settler, on his first,
arrival and settlement, has a great many privations to un-
dergo ; and as almost all the explored country is now oc-
cupied, he has a great way to go into the interior. The
country is entirely covered with wood. The breeding and
rearing of sheep and• cattle are the great objects, tillage,
being a losing ecucern unless in the vicinity of towns.
Sheep are a most profitable concern, and a gran who has a
thousand ewes may almost be said to be worth a thousand
pounds per annum ; for the ewes mostly lamb twit e in the
year, and there is a great demand for them at all times.
Their price is 20$. to 235. a head. The country is full of
cattle, and yet there is little milk to be seen, and still less
butter, and no cheese but what is brought fn m England.'
The servants are all convicts, and though the idea may
horrify you, it is soon nut thought of. In many respects'
they arc better off than at home. A convict cannot bear to'
be caPed by that name, but considers the name of prisoner''
much less opprobrious. It requires a great deal of caution
to avoid the of this class of people ; and unfortu-
nately their is easily excited. The climate bete is
very pleasant ; it is not hot, but far milder than in Scot-
land. In winter, snow sometimes falls., but always dis-
appears by ten o'clock. The rivers never freeze, and the
winter slay is like the summer of Scotland. A plant will
grow here as much in one Tear as in two or three at home.
There are no native fruits ; but apples, pears, peaches,
epricota, grapes, figs, almonds, &c. have been imported
into this country, and grow most luxuriantly •, gardens,
however, are yet in their infancy, apples and peaches
being the only abundant fruits. Common articles of use
are in general very dear, being almost all brought from
England. Tea is 2s. Gil. to 45. per lb. ; sugar is 3d. to 4d.
per lb. ; and butcher's meat is 10d. per lb., and at present
can scarcely be got here.
" At New Norfolk, where there is no market, it call
scarcely be had at all, but more from want of system than
'anything else. Ml' -of clothleg are very shwa, lewd
every thing which is **gilt front Great Britain ; but
money, although scares, is little valued by the common
people. A servant here would think less of a shilling than
a man of the same class at home would of a penny. An
artificer of any kind can earn lOs. or even 20s. a day with
much ease; but they are almost all given to dram-houses,
and only work when compelled. This vice prevails in all
classes to some extent.

" As may he expected from the class of people who com-
pose a great part of the inhabitants, vice, in general, is
very prevalent, and is not looked on with such detestation
as at home. Marriage is regarded as a mete ceremony, and
'thought quite unnecessary among the lower orders, and
conjugal fidelity is rarely to he met with ; but an improve-
ment in these respects ;a beginning to appear, principally
from the greater attention to public morals which is paid by
the Government officers.

4' I rent a house and farm of twenty-two acres at New
Norfolk, for which I pay 301. per annum. New Norfolk
lies on the banks of the River Derwent, a majestic river,
which is navigable u far as this, seventy-eight miles from
the sea, and twenty from Hobart Town. It is the most
respectable settlement on the island, and the neighbouring
country is almost entirely occupied by Scots families ; most
of them have large grants of land ; a thousand acres or
more. Notwithstanding, bere is little society. Men on
arriving here seem to change their dispositions, and ac-
quire an extraordinary degree of selfishness, the effect per-
haps of misfortune at home, which most of them haws
more or less suffered. All who have come to this country
as settler, 'with small capitals of 5001. or 6001., have been
much deeeived, their establishment being much more dif-
ficult than they bed been led to expect. In general, how-
I, ever, they are in a way to have all the comforts of life,
without difficulty or dependence, although no rapid for-
tunes are to be made."