The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-04-23 00:00:00

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Copy of a letter from Mr. C. T. Hewitt, and Mr. W. Col-
ton, tenants of the South Australian Company, who emi-
grated from Devonshire, in August, 1839, to the Direc-
tors of the South Australian Company, London.
2d September, 1810.

GENTLEMEN,—At the request of D. AliLaren, Esq. and
W. Giles, Esq., we give you a statement of facts experienced
by us since our arrival in this colony ; also our expectations
for the future. We landed last 19th of December, 1839, and
on the 25th went and took a view of the land, which was
shewn us by Mr. Randell, belonging to the South Australian
Company. We made choice of four sections in Doringa
Valley, about 22 miles from Adelaide, from which we hate
an excellent road ; except about half a mile, which will in a
few months be avoided, by a bridge over he Horse Shoe, or
Onkaparinga river, where the townshp Nourlunga is begnn,
about three miles from the sea ; from wnencei by a seil.en-
tine course, it runs up to the township, and by t; e
river of wood, a craft of from ten to twenty tons mizht come
up. This is about three miles from us N.W. We have out
spring of excellent water flowing above ground all the year,
and at other parts of the valley we have got water at from
four to eight feet. We arrived here with our families the 2d
day of January, 1840; have built our houses, houses for our
men, dairies, fowl-houses, pigsties, stock-yards, cow-yards.
cow-pens, sheep-pens, gardens, and fenced with posts and
rails the length of one and a half section ; have sown about
eight acres of wheat, four of which we manage d after the De-
vonshire plan, and we must say we never saw better; the
other part is looking well, much better I believe than in
England, if managed in the same way as done here ; also 12
acres of barley, which was finished last week ; it is however,
quite colonial, what in England we should call rough farm-
ing; but from having so many things to attend to, and wil-
ling to sow as much as possible, we have done it rough ; but
hope, Deo volente, the next year to manage better, as we are
fully persuaded in an old proverb, "the best is best still ;"
about one and half acres potatoes ; those above ground can-
not look better ; have finished planting to-day. We have
mangle worzel seed -and common turnips, with peas, beans,
cabbage, carrots, potatoes, &c. &c., all growing and look-
ing remarkably well. As to the natural grass, I believe
they are much more nutritious than in England, also of a
more mild nature, as we have nothing that is strong or rancid
in the butter. For want of conveniences to take away the
calves as in England, we have been obliged to rear them with
the cows; besides which rearing and family use, sold from
ten cows 491bs. of butter in seven days ; as a proof of the
enriching quality of the grass we took up a pair of steers to
work four months ago, when one turned wicked, and by some
hurt which it received was obliged to be turned away again,
hut quite poor, and this week we have killed it good enough
for any market in England. We have some heifers not yet
calfed as good as can be shown in quality and fatness : it
would be called dangerous to calf so tat in England, as I have
myself known many in England to die in such state, but here
we hear nothing of this kind : it is a very healthy climate for
all sorts of cattle and sheep : our herd is now sixty-four head
of cattle, one mare and filly. In February, 18 tO, we bought
140 ewes ; we have now living 139 ewes (one having died with
water in the head) : also 178 living lambs, having lost about
twenty by native dogs and wet weather in the night. We
have no doubt but at the end of twelve months we shall count
420 in all. With small flocks, and attention, they will lamb
twice a year. These sheep and cattle are watched by day by
our own children •, when we receive the sheep in the evening
by tale, and so deliver them in the morning. The cows, &c.
we fetch ourselves in the morning, and let two of the boys
watch them only by day. Our men are constantly ploughing
with oxen, or cutting and getting home wo ,d for fencing or
building. We have been jack-of-all trades, as tradesmen's
wages were so extravagantly high—say 15s. per day for car-
penters, bricklayers, &c. &c.
We are getting thickly inhabited in this quarter si ce we
came here; it is beginning to have the appearance of an in-
habited country, and 1 have no doubt but the industry of
those who have used it will be rewarded with a fair profit.
Four miles south of us in the Encounter Bay Road is the
township of Willunga, where many men are employed in the
slate quarries, which is said to be of an excellent quality.
There is yet in this survey much good land unoccupied as
well as unsold, of rizli black soil, and at different places veins
of limestone, with plenty of wood, and we have no doubt but
every experienced and industrious farmer could do much bet-
ter with his capital here than in England. It is not treating
the land or colony fair to judge of it by the generality of
farmers now here. It is generally those that would not at-
tempt farming in England, and yet they expect, if ever so ig-
norant or indolent, to make money here; but they must be
mistaken; without a seed time there willhe.no harvest, and
if the land is not broken up, we cannot expect to gather its
fruits. I should rejoice to see many of my acquaintance here
that are labouring in England under great rents, heavy taxes,
and unfeeling tithe proctors ; so that with ever so much la-
bour and carefulness still sinking, till all their property will
be gone, and leave their children pennyless. lam sure if
they were here they would do well for themselves and the
colony also. I find from one practical farmer that he had
last year sixty bush. Is of barley per acre ; it was the finest
in quality I ever saw. I have seen very good samples of
wheat, but in small quantities ; hope to he better in informa-
tion after harvest. Let no practical farmer be disheartened
by any of those who have yet given the colony a bad name ;
it is from the navy, army, medical, and shopkeeping farmers
that such reports have gone home; they expected and made
up their minds to be rich without having anything to sell—
we have many of them here now. I wish the land was in
better hands, but this must be the work of time. We shall
be glad to hear of any of our acquaintance coming in connec-
tion with the South Australian Company ; and are, gentle-
men, your most obedient and humble servants.

FRAUDS ON THE POST OFFICE.—On Saturday a case
came on before the sheriffs in the police court, at the instance
of the post office authorities, against a woman of the name
of Watt, from Glasgow, and another woman, of the name of
Thomson, in Edinburgh, charged with conspiring to defraud
the money-order department of the Post-office. It appeared
that Watt had occasion to transmit to Thomsom the sum of
five shillings, she therefore procured a money-order at the,
Glasgow Post-office for that sum, in favour of Thomson ;
but by a mistake of the clerk who filled up the order while
he entered five shillings in one part of it, wrote five pounds
in another part. The relative letter of advice, however, sent
from Glasgow to Edinburgh, bore that the order was five
shillings. Watt transmitted the order to Thomson through
the post, who in consequence presented it on the following
morning, at the Post-office here, when she received the sum
mentioned. It appears that Watt, immediately after she had
dispatched the order to Thomson, entertained the idea that
in consequence of the mistake in the order, of which she was
at the time well aware, that possibly,the Edinburgh Post-
office might pay Thomson five pounds, and wishing to have
a share of this sum, she came to Edinburgh, when finding
that Thomson had previously drawn the five shilling!, she
(Watt), accompanied by Thomson, went to the Post-office
and there demanded the difference, being £4 15s, on the
ground that she (Watt) had actually paid £5 to the Glasgow
office. The officials here stated that the matter would be
enquired into, and Watt and Thomson wered desire to call
again in two days. In the mean time it was ascertained
from Glasgow that five shillings was all that had been paid in
byWatt ; and on. a renewed demand being made, the parties
were taken into custody. On being brought before the court
on Saturday, Watt pleaded guilty to the charge, adding that
Thomson was not aware of the fraudulent design till after the
£4 15s had been demanded. 1n
consequence,
Watt received
imprisonment ins tgaanodl
a,
raen.d Thomson
was dismissed fro% the bar