Nor
Must The Contamination Of The Convict-Ships And Prisons, Both
Here And In England, Be Forgotten.
On the whole, as a place
of punishment, the object is scarcely gained; as a real system
of reform
It has failed, as perhaps would every other plan;
but as a means of making men outwardly honest, - of converting
vagabonds, most useless in one hemisphere, into
active citizens of another, and thus giving birth to a new
and splendid country - a grand centre of civilization - it has
succeeded to a degree perhaps unparalleled in history.
30th. - The Beagle sailed for Hobart Town in Van Diemen's
Land. On the 5th of February, after a six days' passage,
of which the first part was fine, and the latter very cold
and squally, we entered the mouth of Storm Bay: the weather
justified this awful name. The bay should rather be called
an estuary, for it receives at its head the waters of the
Derwent. Near the mouth, there are some extensive basaltic
platforms; but higher up the land becomes mountainous, and
is covered by a light wood. The lower parts of the hills
which skirt the bay are cleared; and the bright yellow fields
of corn, and dark green ones of potatoes, appear very luxuriant.
Late in the evening we anchored in the snug cove,
on the shores of which stands the capital of Tasmania. The
first aspect of the place was very inferior to that of Sydney;
the latter might be called a city, this is only a town.
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