The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-14 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

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A Residence in Tasmaaa. By Captain 11. Butler
Stoney, author of " Five Years in the Levant."
Smith and Elder.
This is a pleasantly written sketch of Tasmania
at the present time. The author having resided
there for a short time, and having visited the prin-
cipal towns and islands, was most favourably im-
pressed, both with the natural advantages and with
the social prospects of the colony. The Tasmania
described in his agreeable volume is a very different
place from the Van Diemen's Land whose name, a
few years ago, was associated with nothing but
crime and criminals. It any lingering prejudice
still exists with respect to this colony, the present
volume will do much to remove it. It is three
years since Van Diemen's Land ceased to be a penal
settlement, in compliance with the earnest desire of
the settlers, and since that time the more agreeable
appellation of Tasmania has been substituted for
the old title which had fallen into such disrepute.
Its prospects, therefore, are materially altered ;
and, as it is naturally fertile, and the climate par-
ticularly healthy, there seems little reason to doubt
the writer's assertions, when he prophesies a great
colonial future for the despised Tasmania. His
work does not pretend to be more than the record.
of 3, tour from Macquarie Harbour to Circa-
lar Head,
therefore the reader must not
expect
to find any information respecting
the history of the colony, the race of the abori.
gines, or any of those learned questions that usually
occupy the attention of travellers. His object, he
says, is to lay before the British public the present
condition and state of the island, in the earnest
hope that some of those prejudices now so common
against it may be lessened' if
not
removed. This
object his work is very likely to advance, as it con-
veys the impression of a homely, retired colony,
where there is room for labour and enterprise—
where, if the toil is hard the reward is certain,
and where the dangers and difficulties are not
h
worse than those which usually attend the pat of
a settler. It was not al ways so, however, and the
the
first settlers had
many seriou obstacles t
success, and were often placed in circums
t ncel
s). their
of imminent peril from the assaults of bushrangers
or natives. The bushrangers are now disposed of,
and the natives having been induced to leave the
colony for the neighbouring Flinder's Island are
nearly extinct. The great impediment to the Pro-
gress of the colony was, of course, the iuii~.li ration
of convicts, but now that that objection is removed
there is no reason why intending emigrants
should not select it for their home. The list of
articles sent to the English and French exhibitions
will perhaps surprise the reader, and give him a
higher opinion of Tasmanian abilities. The schools,
also, whose statistics the author furnishes us with,
well-conducted, while Hohart's
areTownnumerous
and
or Hobarton, as it is now more commonly
e, a Royal Society, a Botanical Gar-
Agricultural ASEO•
called, P°Bsess • Hospitals,A
ablic
den besides P

ciations, Licensed Victuallers' and Printers' So-
cieties, and many similar institutions. Still more
remarkable is it to find in this remote locality a
Ragged School and a Mechanics' Institute. There
are sixteen offices of Insurance Companies and five
Banks, besides a Savings Bank in each city.
There are also in Hobarton seven newspapers,
besides several smaller publications. Among the
articles forwarded to the Great Exhibition were
some books printed and published in Van
Diemen's Land. It will then be seen that
those who regard Tasmania as an unci-
vilised desert are quite mistaken, and we may
hope that when the new constitution comes into
action its social progress will be still more rapid,
though when it is considered what great disadvan-
tages it has had to encounter it is impossible to
help sharing the surprise of the author at the
rapid advance of the colony in the social scale.
The mere fact of having the name of a convict
settlement was sufficient to deter respectable emi-
grants, while the small number who from different
causes ventured there were harassed and plundered
by the natives and the bushrangers. Affairs are
now totally different, and the old home names
which have been so liberally bestowed may not
seem so inappropriate. It is very curious to ob-
serve the strange mixture of names arising from
the desire of its varied population to preserve their
old familiar titles. Thus we have Hampshire,
Buckingham, Torquay, Ben Lomond, Ross, the
Forth, the Mersey, Tullochgorum, Richmond,
Bagdad, the valley of the Jordan, and even Jeru-
salem. We are told that " Before you come to
Jericho the road to Bothwell branches off." To
account for the eastern names, it is on record that
the first settlers in one particular locality were
some soldiers lately arrived from Syria. The de-
scriptions given to the author by his friends in the
neighbourhood of wild cattle hunts and expeditions
to explore the river, are full of interest. In
particular, the narrative of a frightful accident that
befell a youth while hunting wild horses, and the
courage and heroism of his brother, which finally
saved his life, is painfully interesting. They were
in awild and uncultivated district in the very heart
of a forest, and it was four days before any medical
assistance could be obtained. The accident was
occasioned by riding full speed against a tree ; and
the injuries were of a most dangerous and compli-
cated nature. The elder brother, finding the danger
imminent, had the courage to set a broken limb,
besides adopting other precautionary measures,
which were the means of preventing amputation.
It was fifteen weeks before the sufferer could be
moved from the little shepherd's hut to which he
bad been taken. Such terrible accidents are for-
tunately of rare occurrence, but they prove the ne-
cessity of caution in a settler's expeditions. The
volume is enriched with fifteen plates, besides
numerous smaller illustrations. A map of the
island is prefixed, which affords an idea of its
geographical features. The scenery is described as
beautiful and varied, and is said to prove a de-
lightful surprise to most immigrants at first sight.
Those who contemplate crossing the Pacific will
find this work give them a very clear idea of their
future home, while those who have no such inten-
tion may find entertainment and information in its
perusal.