they considered it subversive of the sovereignty which the Crown asserted over the ceded territory; and the natives were thus deprived of the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the excellence of our Sheffield cutlery, or of contemplating their beauties in any other mirrors than those natural ones which their own streams and "water holes" presented to them.

But though compelled to relinquish their position as proprietors, the association were not inclined to abandon a country so valuable, and they therefore began to occupy the land as unlicensed squatters; and such was the eagerness with which their fellow settlers in Van Diemen's Land appreciated the district, so soon as the veil which had shrouded its real merits had been drawn aside, that within twelve months the infant settlement had risen to the status of a village: gardens had been formed; about fifty acres of rich land prepared for tillage; thirty-five vessels had arrived, principally conveying live stock from Van Diemen's Land; the population amounted to upwards of two hundred; the number of sheep amounted to 20,000; and the country in the interior had been located to the distance of fifty miles.

This settlement, from its very commencement, exhibits a spectacle not to be found in the records of any other colony with which we

are acquainted. Its founders not only carried. with them their own servants and their own food-all, in short, that was necessary to their existence-but in the immense numbers of sheep transported, they conveyed the elements of a wealth at once boundless and self-productive. With a fair wind, a vessel may run over from Launceston to Port Phillip in twenty-four hours, and this easy and rapid communication gave to Port Phillip all the advantages of a mother country, as it were, within that distance, from which every aid might be furnished as soon as demanded.

The rapid progress of the settlement soon attracted the attention of the Sydney government, and Sir Richard Bourke despatched a police magistrate, accompanied by a small surveying staff, to lay the foundations of a local government; and to the personal exertions and sound views of this enlightened governor the colony owes a deep debt of gratitude. In May 1837 he proceeded in person to the settlement, and laid out the plans of two towns, to which were given the names of Melbourne and Geelong; and before the month of August in the following year, so rapid had been its progress, as to render it impossible for the memory to keep pace with the movement. Brick buildings were numerous, some boasting of two and three

stories; little inns were transformed into handsome and commodious hotels; the lines of streets had been cleared, marked, and in some instances were undergoing a process of macadamization; branches of two Sydney banks were in active operation; the population had quadrupled; the country in the interior was occupied to a distance of 120 miles, and the settlers were still pushing on to regions yet more remote; and in the month of October following, the first newspaper was published, under the title of the Port Phillip Gazette. Thus, in less than two years and a half from the time when the rich plains of Port Phillip were untrodden save by the foot of their aboriginal natives, or their verdure disturbed except by the leap of the kangaroo, the Saxon energy had planted all the elements of modern civilization, which had not only taken root, but were flourishing in full vigour.

It is not within our limits to trace the history of the colony through all its rapid phases. We will therefore pass over a period of fourteen years of rapid development, and by an extract from the Melbourne Herald we shall convey, perhaps, by force of contrast, a better idea of the progress which the colony had made during that period than by a more lengthened description:

Yesterday, July 15, 1851, the first important epoch in our new-born colony was observed as a sort of gala-day in Melbourne, and from an early hour it was evident, from the closed shops and appearance of the citizens, that the hour when at length, after long and harassing years of expectation, their adopted country would be officially declared free, was looked forward to with heartfelt interest. According to previous notification, his Honour the late Superintendent would be sworn in to the public offices at eleven o'clock, and as that hour approached, groups might be seen hurrying towards the spot to witness the ceremonial. At the appointed time there could not have been less than two thousand persons in the area fronting the government buildings, whilst the upper windows of the edifice were crowded with ladies, who manifested just as much curiosity, and perhaps a little more, to have a peep at the proceedings as the other portion of the community.

"The police and military shortly arrived, and filed in square, and some pieces of artillery were placed in an adjacent position to boom forth at the proper season the joyful intelligence. Just at eleven o'clock the new governor, C. J. Latrobe, Esq., appeared in the porch of the building, attended by the resident Judge, the newly appointed Attorney-general, and all

the principal officials, the Bishop of Melbourne, the Archdeacon of Geelong, and others of the clergy, and various members of the deputations appointed to wait upon his Excellency with addresses of congratulation.

"E. Bell, Esq., the Lieutenant-governor's private secretary and aide-de-camp, proceeded to read the commission of the Queen appointing Sir Charles FitzRoy the Captain-general and Governor-in-chief of the Australasian colonies; and next, the commission appointing Charles Joseph La Trobe, Esq. Lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria.

"The oaths of office were then read over to his Excellency by W. F. Stawell, Esq., the newly appointed Attorney-general, and duly subscribed in the presence of his Honour the resident Judge.

"Captain Lonsdale next read the proclamation of the Lieutenant-governor appointing his executive council. As he commenced, a discharge of artillery commenced also, and continued at intervals until eleven guns were fired. The national anthem followed, by the Sax Horn Band, the multitude remaining uncovered. This concluded the ceremony of inauguration.

"The first levee of the first Governor of Victoria was held at two P.M., at which upwards of 450 visitors were present; and the