In those few instances of
revenge, which, our imperfect knowledge of the circumstances attending
them does not enable us satisfactorily to account for. In considering
this question honestly, we must take into account many points that we too
often lose sight of altogether when discussing the conduct of the
natives, and more especially when we are doing so under the excitement
and irritation arising from recent hostilities. We should remember: -
First, That our being in their country at all is, so far as their ideas
of right and wrong are concerned, altogether an act of intrusion and
aggression.
Secondly, That for a very long time they cannot comprehend our motives
for coming amongst them, or our object in remaining, and may very
naturally imagine that it can only be for the purpose of dispossessing
them.
Thirdly, That our presence and settlement, in any particular locality,
do, in point of fact, actually dispossess the aboriginal inhabitants.
[Note 14: Vide, Notes on the Aborigines, chap. I.]
Fourthly, That the localities selected by Europeans, as best adapted for
the purposes of cultivation, or of grazing, are those that would usually
be equally valued above others, by the natives themselves, as places of
resort, or districts in which they could most easily procure their food.
This would especially be the case in those parts of the country where
water was scarce, as the European always locates himself close to this
grand necessary of life.
