the air.
On the other side of the town, to the eastward, is to be seen the noble
Derwent, which here better deserves to be called an arm of the sea than
a river, extending with its winding banks, forming beautiful bays and
lakes, or projecting into picturesque points, whilst its waters are
enlivened by the boats and shipping of the adjacent port. The water here
is salt, and the bay on which Hobart Town stands affords one of the best
anchorages in the world for vessels, in whatever number or of whatever
burden they may be. Indeed it is said that the Derwent surpasses even
Port Jackson, or at least it is doubtful which of the two deserves a
preference.[145] The capital of Tasmania is built upon gently rising
ground, and though within the present century its site was mere
bush-land, it has now some good streets, with large and handsome shops
and houses. According to Mr. Montgomery Martin, the average rental of
these was 50_l._ each, but then we must not lose sight of the high value
which houses bear in Australia. However, at that calculation, the annual
value of rent in Hobart Town in the year 1835, when there were 1281
houses, would be 72,000_l._[146] The public buildings are said to be,
some of them, handsome and commodious. Court-house, barracks, hospital,
orphan-schools, jails, and government house, rank among the principal
buildings of Hobart Town; and in many respects it appears to resemble a
provincial sea-port in the mother country. It has some excellent inns,
good wharfs and warehouses, and public banks, besides a few considerable
manufacturing establishments. A small stream runs nearly through the
centre of the town, which, besides turning some mills, affords at
certain seasons a good supply of water. But the town is chiefly supplied
by means of pipes, which convey water to private houses and likewise to
the public pumps, and occasionally, it would appear, some scarcity of
this needful article prevails.[147] The church of St. David's, in the
capital of Van Diemen's Land, is a large building, and so it ought to
be, since it was until lately the only church for a population
(including the suburbs) of 13,000 souls.[148] Besides the church, sundry
other buildings rear up their heads, here as elsewhere; and if any thing
could justify separation and divisions among those for whom their Divine
Master prayed "that they might be one," if in any case it were "lawful
to do evil that good may come," then dissent of every kind