y resumed
the wig.

The quality of the early settlers in South Australia, gave Sir George
Grey great trust in the new Anglo-Saxondom to be built up in the south.
Many of them were Nonconformists, which suggested to him the Puritan
founding of New England. As a body they had a worth, a sincerity, a true
ring which could not fail of fine records. That knowledge helped him, in
the difficult task of setting South Australia on its feet. His policy of
severe economy made shoes pinch, but he held on, ever ready with the
courteous word for those who most assailed him.

He could contrast Adelaide, when town sites went at auction for about
five pounds an acre, with the Adelaide of our day. 'If you had yourself,'
somebody put it to him, 'invested in a few of these sites, you would be
rich instead of poor?' The remark bore partly upon the enormously
enhanced value of city lands all over Australia, partly upon Sir George's
simple unconcern for wealth, his disregard of mere money. He was almost
inclined to pity millionaires, as being among the afflicted. The tinkle
of gold was never in his golden dreams.

'Yes,' he answered, 'the land which sold for five pounds in Adelaide,
might, at the present moment, be worth nearer five thousand. Throughout
my career, I followed a very strict rule in those matters. I never had
any dealings in land, or other property, except as Governor, charged with
the interests of the whole community. My despatches were my sole title-
deeds.'

'There is no virtue,' he laid down, 'in honest duty, such as we claim
from every public servant. Our lofty ideal in that regard is true British
wisdom. Moreover, need a man, estimating wealth on its merits, care to be
rich? What private means I inherited, I have spent largely on public
ends. I mean, in particular, those libraries at Cape Town and Auckland,
which I was enabled to help. Why, the bargain is all mine; I am the
debtor for the opportunity.'

To Sir George Grey, Oceana had seemed a fertile land, crying across the
depths, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.' His mission was to pass that invitation freely to the
shores of the Old World, and to be vigilant on the spot, keeping a clear
ring. He did not want folks to come, only to find a path strewn with the
obstacles and ills they thought to have left behind. His purpose was to
make life as generous, as unfettered as possible. Keep the Old World out
of the New! It b