Revised Jun 12 2021
To Sir Roderick Murchison
Sydney, August 16, 1856.
My dear Sir Roderick,—Thanks for your letter of May 15, which reached me a few days ago. It is a great pleasure to me to correspond with a man like yourself, earnest and zealous in everything which you undertake. Your scheme for a fresh colony in the north of Australia, to which you propose to send convicts, may perhaps answer, though I have my doubts as to the country and climate, with reference, I mean, to the productive power of the new settlement. What will it produce? To what use will you turn the convict labour? The only mode in which such a scheme could could be carried out effectually would be by a modification of the assignment system, and by giving the Governor, whoever he may be, full power of control and management. If he is to be hampered by a legislative body under any form, the experiment will fail. Get a man with nerve and brains, and make an autocrat of him, and he may probably give life to the settlement; hamper him with regulations and skilfully devised schemes for improving the morals of the convicts, and the whole will turn out a delusion. The ticket-of-leave system in England I always said would be a failure; it was an attempt to thrust upon one state of society an arrangement which could only work properly under its direct opposite. I rather distrust your American friend's scheme for a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien. The main difficulty would be the want of water at the summit level. Each ship requires a lock full of water each way, and now that ships are getting enormous, the size of the locks must be equally enormous; and the waste of water will be in proportion to this. I have an experiment on hand at present in the removal of the Pitcairn Islanders to Norfolk Island. They have just landed, and having been placed in possession of a variety of tools and appliances, of which they know not the use, are rather puzzled. I am desirous, however, to put some pressure upon them, in order to make them act and think for themselves. They have hitherto been objects of charitable interest, and they have to a certain extent lived upon this. They must now learn to produce for barter or sale, in order to enable them to purchase such articles as they cannot make for themselves. I hope to pay them a visit soon. Good-bye.
Yours very truly,
W. D.