of the proceeds of the Government sales, of the very lands, which were the natural possession of the Blacks, and to which, their right has been only questioned by a foe, too powerful for them to contend or to argue with. The priority of claim for the benefit of the Blacks, upon the funds arising from the sale of lands, by the Government of New South Wales, to whatever extent, it may be required for their benefit, must, I conceive, be admitted, by every person who regards equity, or common justice. I therefore trust, that I shall not be counted as improperly interfering in a political question, in thus plainly, yet respectfully, urging it; seeing my plea is in the cause of humanity, and on behalf of the oppressed,—of a people who require to have justice done them speedily, or the opportunity will be gone for ever, and the unmitigated guilt before God, of their extermination, will be fixed, irremediably, upon the British Nation and its Australian descendants. Hobart Town, Van Diemens Land, 25th of 4th month, 1837. JAMES BACKHOUSE. To Major General Richard Bourke, K. C. B. Governor in Chief of New South Wales. On a subject so deeply important, as that which suggests means for rescuing from destruction, an entire race of human beings, such as the Aborigines of Australia, I trust the Governor will not deem me intrusive, in giving expression to my individual concurrence, in the views submitted by my friend James Backhouse, in the accompanying communication. Having shared with him, in the opportunities he has had, of ascertaining the real condition of these unhappy people, I have been forcibly struck with their deep moral and physical degradation. The encroachments of Europeans have curtailed their means of subsistence, and consequently augmented the misery of the Blacks; and the vices that have been grafted on their native habits, through association with Europeans, have not only contributed to this end, but have also sunk them considerably below their former level, in the scale of morals. A fearful responsibility, therefore, lies at the door of the British occupiers of the soil, a responsibility which it must be their interest to discharge, in such a manner as to relieve them from the weight of Divine displeasure, which must inevitably rest on the head of injustice and oppression. The practical effects of this displeasure are already apparent, in the evils entailed on the White Population, from collision with the Blacks. One of the most appalling and extensive of these, is the number of victims to vice and disease, who constantly crowd the hospitals of the Interior, solely from this cause, sufficiently demonstrating, that the oppressors and the oppressed are liable to be involved in the same common ruin, though the preponderance of guilt is greatly on the side of the former. Aware of the feelings of interest, entertained by the Governor, on behalf of the Aborigines of Australia, I am not without hope, that the measures now suggested, or others promising to be equally efficient, that may hereafter be devised, will, at no distant period, be carried into effect. GEORGE WASHINGTON WALKER. Hobart Town, Van Diemens Land, 25th of 4th month, 1837. APPENDIX. An EPISTLE to PERSONS ATTENDING the MEETINGS of FRIENDS, in SYDNEY. To the Persons in Sydney, New South Wales, assembling for Public Worship, after the manner of the Society of Friends. Dear Friends, Your situation, as a little company, meeting for the public worship of God, according to the practice of the Society of Friends, continues deeply to interest us; and often draws forth aspirations to our Heavenly Father, that you may not rest in a form of godliness, without knowing the power thereof; that you may not be contenting yourselves with coming together, and sitting in silence before the Lord; but that your hearts may be stayed upon God, truly waiting upon him, in humble dependence and fervent prayer; and that this may likewise be the habit of your minds out of meetings. For those who live in forgetfulness of God, or not in subjection to his Spirit, in their daily walk, cannot reasonably expect to be enabled to draw near unto him, in seasons of public worship. Blessed be the name of the Most High! we have in Jesus Christ, a Mediator and Advocate with the Father, touched with a feeling of our infirmities, who ever liveth to make intercession for us; not that we should live unto ourselves, but unto him; that we should become his humble, self-denying followers; and through him, be delivered from the power of Satan. May each of you reflect upon your state, and examine whether you know anything of the work of the Lord upon your souls; and if you have known it, whether it be making progress, or declining. Remember the declaration of the Saviour, "Many are called, but few are chosen." None become of the chosen, or elect of the Lord, who do not yield to the convictions of the Holy Spirit, and witness unfeigned repentance, and consequent departure from sin, through the help of the Grace of God, which is freely offered to all, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and which will be increasingly received by all who wait upon, and pray to God perseveringly, for it; trusting in his mercy, set forth, and offered to mankind, in his well-beloved Son. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked: such as every man soweth, such shall he reap. If ye sow to the flesh, ye shall of the flesh, reap corruption; but if ye sow to the Spirit, ye shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Those who do sow to the Spirit, will continually come to the Light, that their deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God: and if any hate the Light, and come not to it, lest their deeds should be reproved, it is because they are evil doers, and in a state of condemnation before God.* We often feel for your situation, in regard to the lack of spiritual fathers and teachers among you; but we desire that you may seek diligently to God, that you may become truly his adopted children, know him as your reconciled Father, through the redemption that is in Christ, and the Holy Spirit, given through him, as your Teacher. Then shall you be complete in Christ; God shall supply all your need; and you shall be faithful witnesses in life and conversation, of his goodness and power to save; and being guided into all truth, you shall not fail to receive of him gifts, for the edification one of another, whether vocal in the congregation, or otherwise. For the measure or "manifestation of the Spirit, given to every man to profit withal," is not designed merely for our own deliverance from sin, but for the edification of the body of Christ; being differently administered, and operating diversely, according to the self-same Spirit, which divideth to every man severally as he will. But if the grace received, be not suffered to reign in the heart, it will be as a talent wrapped in a napkin, and buried in the earth; and how then shall the Lord be met at his coming, when he shall call to account before his Judgment Seat? Let the spirit of love, and of a sound mind, prevail amongst you: for "love is of God;" and as we become renewed in the image of Him who created us, through "the washings of regeneration and renewings of the Holy Ghost," with which the disciples of Christ are baptized, we shall love God and our neighbour the more, and shall have the evidence that "we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren :" it will also be evident to all men, that we are "the disciples of Christ, because we have love one to another." This love will not make us blind to the faults one of another; but it will bring us, in a sound mind, to labour with those who halt, or are out of the way, in the spirit of love, and solicitude for their restoration. Your example before the world is of unspeakable importance. The eyes of many are upon you, as persons professing to be led by the Spirit of God; and if, while you are thus professing, you should be found walking in the spirit of the world, you may become stumbling-blocks in the way of others, and cannot then escape the judgment of God. "Beware lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Remember the uncertainty of life, and that it is only while the Lord calls, that we can answer; and that, if we turn a deaf ear to his reproofs, we know not how soon he may give us up to hardness of heart. That you may not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is," whether vocal ministry be exercised or not; but that gathering in "the name of Christ," in his authority and power, you may know him to be in the midst of you, who is the great Minister of ministers, and may experience him to be the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls, is the prayer of your friends, in the love of the Gospel, JAMES BACKHOUSE. GEORGE WASHINGTON WALKER. Philippolis, South Africa, 27th of 6th mo. 1839. |