to write of it thus, and to have it in my power to contribute
to the removal of any erroneous impressions with regard to its condition
at the present moment.

COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE OF SYDNEY.

I have already remarked, that I was not prepared for the scene that met my
view when I first saw Sydney. The fact was, I had not pictured to myself;
nor conceived from any thing that I had ever read or heard in England,
that so extensive a town could have been reared in that remote region, in
so brief a period as that which had elapsed since its foundation. It is
not, however, a distant or cursory glance that will give the observer a
just idea of the mercantile importance of this busy capital. In order to
form an accurate estimate of it, he should take a boat and proceed from
Sydney Cove to Darling Harbour. He would then be satisfied, that it is not
upon the first alone that Australian commerce has raised its storehouse
and wharfs, but that the whole extent of the eastern shore of the last
more capacious basin, is equally crowded with warehouses, stores,
dockyards, mills, and wharfs, the appearance and solidity of which would
do credit even to Liverpool. Where, thirty years ago, the people flocked
to the beach to hail an arrival, it is not now unusual to see from thirty
to forty vessels riding at anchor at one time, collected there from every
quarter of the globe. In 1832, one hundred and fifty vessels entered the
harbour of Port Jackson, from foreign parts, the amount of their tonnage
being 31,259 tons.

The increasing importance of Sydney must in some measure be attributed to
the flourishing condition of the colony itself, to the industry of its
farmers, to the successful enterprise of its merchants, and to particular
local causes. It is foreign to my purpose, however, to enter largely into
an investigation of these important points. To do so would require more
space than I can afford for the purpose, and might justly be considered as
irrelevant in a work of this kind. Without attempting any lengthened
detail, it may be considered sufficient if I endeavour merely to point out
the principal causes of the present prosperity (and, as they may very
probably prove) of the eventual progress of our great southern colony to
power and independence.

STAPLE OF THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES.

The staple of our Australian colonies, but more particularly of New South
Wales, the climate and the soil of which are peculiarly suited to its
produc