NEW SOUTH serve in the Survey Department for a period of not less than two years after their arrival in the colony. 4. With the view of affording the best information in my power with respect to the number of men which will be required to render all the surveying parties efficient which are now, or rather which, if they could obtain men, ought to be in the field, and also of determining the rate of wages to be paid to the men, and the scale of rations which they will be entitled to receive, as a guide also to the Commissioners in making a proper selection of men for the purpose and explaining to them the nature of the duties which they will have to perform, I have consulted with the officer at the head of the Survey Department, and bave now the honour to transmit the copy of a very full and clear report which 10th March 1853. he has furnished on the subject, and which, if his suggestions should meet with your approval, I request may be acted on with as little delay as possible. Right Hon. Sir J. S. Pakington, I have, &c. (Signed) C. FITZROY. Encl. in No. 3. Enclosure in No. 3. SIR, Surveyor's General's Office, Sydney, March 10, 1853. IN attention to your letter, No. 53, (143) of the 16th February, informimg me that you are directed by the Governor-General to remark in reference to the difficulty experienced by officers of my department in obtaining the requisite men for field service, and the obstacles thereby occasioned to the due performance of their duties, that in some of the adjoining colonies detachments from the corps of sappers and miners have been sent out from England for employment in the survey departments, and that if an application were made to the proper authorities at home, there probably would be no objection to extend the benefit of this arrangement to the colony, with the understanding of course that provision would be made for their payment from colonial funds, and further, if this proposal should be objected to in England, then his Excellency would suggest that the Land and Emigration Commissioners should be requested to send out such number of young unmarried men as I may think necessary to obtain for the service, and that they should come under engagement to serve in this department for a period not less than two years after their arrival in the colony, and that it will be necessary to determine the rate of wages to be paid to them, and the scale of rations they will be entitled to receive, and as a guide also to the commissioners in making a proper selection of men for the purpose, the nature of the duties which will be required of them should be explained. 2. I have the honour accordingly to report that the obtaining of men from England for the purpose of making up survey parties appears to me to be extremely desirable, for even supposing that the end of a twelvemonth, when the arrival of the men may be looked for, labour should be cheaper and more abundant than at present, still the power of commanding the services of men will always be desirable, provided that care is exercised in their selection; indeed should the experiment answer, the deficiency that would arise from increase of business, accidents, unfitness, &c. could always be made good from home. 3. In the first place, with regard to numbers, supposing as will probably be the case that the numbers of sappers and miners to be obtained, if any, will be limited, I should say that at least thirty should be sent out, which would give to each party two, the one to lead, and the other to follow the chain. 4. Of the unmarried men to be selected by the Land and Emigration Commissioners, about 100 might be required, but the number is a matter of no great import, since, as stated above, the number would always require recruiting, and it would not be well to send out more than 20 or 25 at a time, so that they may be gradually infused into the surveying parties as existing engagements expire, and other vacancies arise, and further, that it might be difficult to provide lodging and maintenance in Sydney for any large number of men pending their distribution. 5. The sappers and miners, and the other men should be young, strong, and healthy, and if they could be subjected to the examination of a surgeon, so much the better; a man over forty, or who has any ailment whatever, is unfit for the bush. 6. Your letter suggests not less than two years as the period for indenting the emigrant men, it may be worthy of consideration whether the period might not be extended to three years, or any such period as the Land and Emigration Commissioners could bargain for. 7. As regards the rate of wages, 30l. per annum would perhaps be that sum which, whilst it would not reach the extravagant rate paid in some parts of the colony, would yet be a sufficient inducement for the emigrants to remain contented, but I would suggest that the emigration agent could perhaps afford the soundest suggestions on this head. Not knowing whether the sappers and miners are to receive military pay, with the arrange ments for their wages, I am at fault, but I should say that as they will be a superior class of men the wages might exceed by some 51. per annum the wages of the emigrants. 8. The ration now allowed is that which was given under the convict system, and I would propose a better scale, and I enclose a statement showing the old ration and that now proposed. 9. The emigrant men should be accustomed to country life, a selection of grooms and carpenters, bricklayers and carpenters, labourers or men otherwise accustomed to straight line work, also men accustomed to the felling of timber. No doubt many men already practised as assistants to railway surveyors and engineers might be found. 10. It is to be understood that the men will always sleep in a tent, and that they may be for months in the interior, 400 or 500 miles from Sydney, and beyond the reach of towns. 11. The advantages offered by this mode of life should not be lost sight of, namely, that having a sufficient ration, no necessity for expenditure arises, so that the whole of their salary, with the exception of what may be required for a few clothes and luxuries, would be saved. They should supply themselves in England with woollen shirts, moleskin trowsers, broadcloth jackets and strong boots, bedding and blankets. 12. The men will for the time being be the servants of the surveyor to whom they may be attached; they are mostly formed into parties of six, to be employed as follows, namely:- 1 Tentkeeper, Cook, &c. 1 Bullock driver or groom. 1 Chain leader. 1 Chain follower. 1 Instrument carrier. 1 Marker of trees. 13. The equipment of the men will consist of all the requisites for carrying and cooking their food, and for the ordinary comfort of a surveyor's life, and for means of transport for their clothing, &c. 14. The men being found a free passage, their salaries would not commence until their arrival. 15. Having thus as requested offered for the consideration of his Excellency the Governor-General my opinion on this subject, and afforded all the information which has occurred to me to be necessary, I may add that the particulars herein set forth might be printed in England in such form as the experience of the Land and Emigration Commissioners would dictate. NEW SOUTH OZ. of soap. No. 4. COPY of a DESPATCH from Governor General Sir CHARLES A. FITZROY to (No. 119.) MY LORD DUKE, the Duke of NEWCASTLE. Government House, Sydney, September 29, 1853. (Answered No. 46, April 30, 1854, page 21.) WITH reference to the 14th paragraph of my speech to the Legislative Council at the commencement of the present session, a copy of which was enclosed in my Despatch, No. 59, of the 11th May last, I have now the honour to report to your Grace that I have found myself in a position to detach a small surveying party to Port Curtis, for the purpose of conducting the preliminary surveys necessary to the regular occupation of that important country, and especially to lay out the future town of Gladstone; in order that the persons. who have already proceeded or will shortly proceed thither, may obtain a proper title to the lands which the necessities of trade will compel them to occupy. 2. Within the last few years, and especially since the exploration of Dr. Leichhardt, there has been a gradual tendency to occupy with stock the country lying north of the northernmost pastoral districts of New South Wales; and of course it was desirable at the earliest practicable moment to convert this unauthorized occupancy into a legal tenure. No. 4 NEW SOUTH 3. As far back as the month of May 1851, this subject was brought under my notice by the Surveyor-General of the colony in a letter, from which I quote the following passage :— 66 "I take leave to submit for the consideration of his Excellency the Governor, "that it would be very advisable, were it possible, that, as suggested in the Legislative Council, the Surveyor should precede occupation; and as I find by my attendance at the Board for opening tenders for (pastoral) runs, that "colonization is extending to the northward with rapid strides; surveyors "should now be employed in that country to explore and survey the principal "rivers and ranges, to sketch out lines of communication, and determine upon "sites for towns.' 4. I was deterred from giving immediate effect to the suggestions of the Surveyor-General by financial considerations. 5. At a later period, when the Government would have been prepared to ncur the expense incident to the undertaking, it was deemed expedient to postpone it for a reason which was suggested by the Surveyor-General himself, as shown in the following extract of his letter, dated 15th April 1852:- "But as I gather from the public journals that the erection of the northern "districts into a separate colony is now in contemplation of Her Majesty's "Government, I conclude that it will be most expedient to make arrangements "for the extension of surveys by this colony conformably to any limits that may be in contemplation; and that, while these are doubtful, the subject "admits of no definite plan of extensive survey." 66 In this view myself and my Executive Council concurred. 6. Early in the present year the subject was revived by the Deputy Surveyor27th Jan. 1853. General, by the letter of which I enclose a copy, and in which he forwarded a communication from certain residents in the northern districts, pointing out the advantage that would accrue to the northern settlers generally by the opening of Port Curtis as a place for the shipment of their produce; and very shortly afterwards the Chief Commissioner of Crown lands also submitted a some23d Feb. 853. what similar application which had been made to him by other residents of the northern districts. 8th Feb. 1853. 7. The first of these communications I caused to be brought under the consideration of the Executive Council, of whose recommendations I enclose a copy. Acting upon this advice, I caused a survey party to be organized under the conduct of Mr. Surveyor M'Cabe, one of the gentlemen who were sent out by the Home Government to join the survey staff in this colony in the year 1841. This party consisted of two officers, (with a medical gentleman attached,) one overseer, and sixteen men. A small vessel of 80 tons was accordingly chartered to convey the party to Port Curtis, at an expense of 250l. per month so long as she might be required. The expense of the expedition, irrespective of the vessel, 27th April 1853. may be judged of from the enclosed estimate submitted by Mr. M'Cabe before his departure. 8. Some slight delay has accidentally occurred in reporting the fitting out of this party; but I cannot regret the circumstance as I am now enabled to state that the vessel has returned to Sydney, after safely landing Mr. M'Cabe's party, and that she is now about to be again despatched to Port Curtis for the purpose of conveying fresh supplies for their use, at a further cost which, at the present, I am not in a position to estimate. 9. By the opportunity this afforded, Mr. M'Cabe has reported to the head of his department that he is actively employed in laying out lands for sale in the Town of Gladstone, and its vicinity, which it is proposed in the first instance to offer to public auction in Sydney. 10. I will not fail to keep your Grace apprised of the result of the attempt, thus far successfully undertaken, to open up what I feel assured will become a most important settlement. I have, &c. (Signed) CHAS. A. FITZROY. SIR, Enclosure 1 in No. 4. Surveyor-General's Office, Sydney, I HAVE the honour to forward to you, and to request that you will bring under the consideration of his Excellency the Governor General, the accompanying letter from Mr. Livingstone and other residents in the northern districts, pointing out the advantage that would accrue to the northern settlers generally by the opening of Port Curtis as a place for shipment of their produce, and requesting that steps may be taken for laying out a town there, so as to enable them to erect buildings necessary for the purpose. The practice of making the laying out of towns as the initiatory step to the settlement of a country has been so successfully adopted by Sir Richard Bourke in the instance of Melbourne and Geelong, that even if it were to involve some little extraordinary expense I should strongly recommend it in every case of a good seaport at a sufficient distance from a town already established and with command of a good back country, as well as facility of communication with the neighbouring settlements. All these advantages 1 understand Gladstone to possess, and I therefore beg leave to recommend this application to his Excellency's favourable notice. NEW SOUTH Encl. 1 in No. 4, Sydney, January 19, 1853. SIR, For the information of yourself and the Government we beg to assure you that great advantage would thereby accrue to most of the northern settlers, for Maryborough, besides being a very inferior shipping port to that at Gladstone, is considerably further from the stations of at least two thirds of the Burnett district, and all those of the River Dawson. And as the necessities of the said settlers compel them to look for a better shipping port than the River Mary, and the proximity of Gladstone invites them to use it, your subscribers cannot conclude this letter without reminding you of the many inconveniences and serious losses which will accrue to those who, from want of judgment in selecting or ignorance of locality (as at Maryborough), should locate themselves at an unfit spot for a town of so much importance as Gladstone must become; or who erect buildings and incur expenses for the less adventurous and later comers to wrest from them. We have, &c. (Signed) J. LIVINGSTONE. HY. ARDING THOMAS. SIR, Enclosure 2 in No. 4. Crown Lands Office, Sydney, February 23, 1853. I HAVE the honour to enclose a memorial handed to me by certain squatters, soliciting that his Excellency the Governor-General would make arrangements to enable them to occupy the country to the northward of the Burnett district. 2. In submitting this memorial I would state that I have had numerous personal applications to a similar effect. 3. Upon inquiry I am assured that nearly all the available land in the Burnett district is occupied, and that there are already a body of squatters located between the Burnett and Port Curtis, and sufficient by the payment of licences to meet the expenses attending the ppointment of a commissioner. 4. In the event of his Excellency acceding to the prayer of the memorialists it may probably be advisable to lay out a township at Port Curtis; I have no doubt that the sale of land would promptly realize a very large sum, and the place soon become of considerable importance. 5. The Commissioner of Crown lands of the Burnett district being daily expected to arrive in Sydney, a further report as to the occupants of the Burnett district will be submitted on the arrival of that gentleman. I have, &c. (Signed) GEORGE BARNEY, Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands. Encl. 2 in No, 4. NEW SOUTH To his Excellency Sir Charles Fitzroy, the Governor-General of Australia, THAT your Excellency's memorialists, being obliged from the increase of their stock to find new runs, are anxious to occupy the country towards Port Curtis; and would therefore most respectfully solicit that your Excellency may be pleased to establish such regulations as may in your Excellency's opinion meet the wants of your memorialists (Signed) WILLIAM M. D'ORSEY. And eleven other signatures. Encl. 3 in No. 4. Encl. 4 in No. 4. Enclosure 3 in No. 4. PROCEEDINGS of the EXECUTIVE COUNCIL on the 8th February 1853, with respect to a Confirmed, February 15, 1853. (Minute No. 53—8.) 2. Having taken this matter into consideration in connexion with their proceedings on the 19th March and 4th May of last year, on the subject of the proposed survey of the northern portions of the colony, the council advise as follows: 1st. The necessary instructions should now be given for sending a survey party to Port Curtis, to mark out a site for the future township, and to measure off lands for sale in its vicinity. The party to be detached for this duty should be a strong one to meet the possible case of a collision with the aboriginal natives. 2d. Application should be made to the Legislative Council during its next session, for a vote to defray the expense of a sufficient police establishment at the contemplated settlement. 3d. The county within a radius of fifteen miles from the future township, should be reserved from pastoral occupation, in order that it may be available for the purpose of settlement. 4th. So soon as the site of the township is definitively determined, application should be made to Her Majesty's Government for an Order in Council declaring the tract so to be reserved to come within the class of settled lands. REFERRING to the fourth paragraph of your letter of yesterday, No. 53/287, requesting me to furnish you with a list of what I may require for the expedition to Port Curtis, and an estimate of the cost, so that you may obtain the authority of his Excellency the Governor-General for the necessary outlay, I do myself the honour to annex a rough estimate of the expenses of an efficient equipment for the surveys to be made at Port Curtis, exclusive of that of hiring the vessel which it is proposed to send with me there, also exclusive of the expense of purchasing the necessary fire arms, and ammunition, which can only be procured just now from the Ordnance store. ROUGH ESTIMATE of the Expense of Equipment, &c. &c. for the Surveys to be made at |
