The Governor gave evidence of liberal views in other directions. Up till this time there had been a rigid censorship over newspaper articles published in the colony, but in 1824 liberty of the press was affirmed by proclamation. About this time also the old method of dispensing justice in a Court composed of a judge, assisted by assessors drawn entirely from officers of the army, was dispensed with, and trial by jury was instituted, the first properly empanelled jury sitting at the Quarter Sessions of November, 1824. To Sir Francis Forbes, the first Chief Justice, is mainly due the credit of introducing this much-needed reform. Up to this time the Governor had possessed practically absolute power over the affairs of the colony, the only restraining influence being the force of public opinion amongst the colonists, and the fardistant authority of the Secretary of State. But the colonists were granted a certain measure of self-government in 1823, when, under an Act passed by the British Parliament, it was provided that the Governor should nominate a Legislative Council of seven members, by whose advice he was to be guided.

Sir Thomas Brisbane was succeeded in 1825 by Major-General Ralph Darling, who before very long found himself involved in serious disputes with the colonists and the press. On account of some very severe strictures by the latter with reference to the conduct of public affairs, the Council passed several Acts which temporarily curtailed newspaper criticism. An indirect result of the enforcement of these Acts was that the number of members of the Council was increased from seven to fifteen in 1828. About this time the Bushranging Act was passed by the Council with the idea of putting a stop to the depredations of the bushrangers, as the desperadoes were called, who either singly or in gangs roamed over the highways, and robbed travellers indiscriminately. During Governor Darling's administration the work of exploration was vigorously pushed forward. In 1823 Allan Cunningham made his way northwards from Bathurst towards the head waters of the Castlereagh, discovering the gap in the mountains known as the Pandora Pass, by which access was opened to the country beyond. In 1826 he penetrated northwards to the country round the Upper Darling. In 1827, crossing the Namoi and Dumaresq Rivers, he reached the Darling Downs. Next year, working inland from Moreton Bay, he discovered the practicable pass from the coast to the Downs which still bears his The most famous explorer of the time, however, was Captain Sturt. In his first journey Sturt discovered the Darling and traced both the Castlereagh and Macquarie to their junction therewith. At the time when he passed over the country a prolonged drought had left its effects, the Darling being quite salt, while the bed of the Castlereagh was destitute of water. The inland sea which Oxley had affirmed his belief in was also proved to be non-existent. In his second expedition, on which he was accompanied by George Macleay, Sturt descended the Murrumbidgee and discovered the Murray, which he followed down to the sea.

name.

At this time there were persistent rumours to the effect that the French contemplated the formation of settlements on the Australian Continent. Steps were therefore taken to occupy the threatened points in advance, and expeditions were despatched to Western Port and King George's Sound. At King George's Sound the township of Albany was founded, but Western Port, which the French had left in disgust, was shortly after abandoned.

Governor Darling left Australia in 1831, and was succeeded in the administration by Sir Richard Bourke, one of the most popular of the Governors who have ruled in New South Wales. It was to Bourke's suggestion that the policy of assisted immigration was due, the British Government doubling the amount voted by the Legislative Council to give effect to it. The first immigrants to arrive under this system were fifty young women from an orphan school in Ireland, and fifty-nine mechanics brought from Scotland by Dr. Lang to assist in building the Australian College.

Bourke's tenure of office was also made noteworthy by the valuable explorations conducted by Sir Thomas Mitchell, the Surveyor-General. In his first expedition Mitchell made a careful examination of the country northward from the Liverpool Plains. His second expedition had for its object the closer exploration of the districts between the Bogan and the Darling. On this occasion he found the country far different from what Sturt had experienced, for the river banks were now well-grassed, while the Darling was no longer a salt stream, but a stately river. Mitchell established the depôt of Fort Bourke, and explored the river's course for some three hundred miles. He had now established the fact of its connection with the Namoi, Gwydir, and Condamine, and therefore determined to make certain whether it joined the Murray or flowed away westward. Next year, therefore (1836), he proceeded down the Lachlan basin to the Murrumbidgee, and thence along the Murray till he met the stream which Sturt had taken to be the Darling. This idea he proved to be correct, and then turned back with the object of ascertaining the connection between the Murray and Hume's series of rivers. But near Swan Hill he reached the Loddon, and ascending Mount Hope and Pyramid Hill, obtained the first vision of a country which so charmed him that he gave it the name of Australia Felix. Passing through this district, he crossed the Loddon and Avoca Rivers to the head waters of the Wimmera, and later on reached the Glenelg. This stream he followed down to its estuary, and then turned eastward to Portland Bay, where he came upon the settlement of the brothers Henty. On his return journey Mitchell ascended Mount Macedon, whence he viewed the grassy plains stretching away to Port Phillip; then retracing his steps to his camp near Castlemaine, he proceeded from this point to the river Murray, which he crossed a little below the present site of Albury. Mitchell soon afterwards made a triumphal entry into Sydney, after an absence of seven months' duration.

Governor Bourke left New South Wales in 1837, carrying with him the esteem of the colonists over whom he had so ably ruled. As some recognition of his many services, particularly in regard to the question of religious equality, it was decided to erect a statue of him in Sydney. and in 1842 the statue was completed and placed at the Macquariestreet entrance to the Domain, where the ceremony of unveiling took place on the 11th April of the same year.

The next Governor was Sir George Gipps, who assumed office in 1838, and immediately found himself called upon to grapple with questions of very serious import. One of the most pressing of these was the abolition of the transportation system. For a long time the feeling had been growing in the colony that the day was past when New South Wales should be called upon to receive convicts, and, as early as 1830, a league had been formed to ensure cessation of transportation. The Parliamentary Committee of 1837-8 had collected a volume of evidence which fairly horrified public opinion in England when it became known. In spite of the opposition of those landholders. who feared that loss of convict labour would mean the destruction of their interests, an Order in Council was passed in 1840 entirely abolishing the system so far as it affected New South Wales. During the fifty-three years when transportation was in operation 82,250convicts, of whom 70,040 were males, and 12,210 females, had been landed in Sydney. Some nine years after the passing of the Order in Council an attempt was made to revive the system, but without success. Another very important event which took place during the administration of Sir George Gipps was the granting of a new Constitution providing for the appointment of a Legislative Council consisting of thirty-six members, twelve of whom were to be nominated by the Crown, while the remainder were to be elected. The franchise qualification was a £20 rental, or a freehold of £200 in value, and the qualification for elective members was property to the amount of £2,000, or of £100 yearly value. The first meeting of the newlyconstituted Council took place on the 1st August, 1843.

In 1844 a movement was begun by the settlers in the Port Phillip district to have that portion of the continent proclaimed a separate colony. At this period the total population of what is now New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland was not more than 150,000, the residents of the Port Phillip district numbering about 30,000. It was claimed by these settlers that the distance which separated them from the seat of government was too great to permit of their requirements receiving attention, and their claim for separation was eloquently supported by Dr. Lang, one of the six members representing the Port Phillip district in the Council. After seven years of agitation their petition was granted, and in 1851, when the population numbered 77,345, the country south of the Murray was formed into a separate colony under the name of Victoria.

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Sir George Gipps retired from office in 1846, and was succeeded by Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy. During Fitzroy's term of office, which expired in January, 1855, occurred some of the most important events in the annals of the colony. Chief amongst these was the discovery of gold in 1851. For some years before this time there had been rumours of the existence of the precious metal. In 1839 Count Strzelecki found traces of gold in iron ore at Hartley, in the Blue Mountains, but Governor Gipps, fearful of its effects on the convict community, persuaded Strzelecki to keep the matter secret. Again, in 1841, the Rev. W. B. Clarke found grains of gold in a creek near Bathurst. Speaking in England in 1844, Sir Roderick Murchison stated it to be his belief that the Great Dividing Range of Australia would be found as rich in gold as the Ural Mountains of Europe. But it was not till the Government Geologist had confirmed Edward Hargraves' discoveries in 1851, and nuggets of gold began to arrive in Sydney, that the teachings of the geologists were remembered. Almost in an instant all classes of the community were infected with the most intense excitement. The immediate result of the discovery was extremely unpleasant. The squatters were deserted by their shepherds and labourers, work in the various trades was paralysed for want of hands to attend to it, while a general suspension of ordinary business seemed about to result from the wild rush to the diggings. However, in a few years matters resumed a more sober aspect, and gold-mining took its place among the settled industries of the colony.

The year 1851 was also a memorable one through the passing of an Act by the Imperial Government providing for the granting of a larger measure of self-government for New South Wales. The desire for a free Constitution had been strong for some years before the discovery of gold, and now that the colony had received such a large accession of free settlers consequent on the discovery, its position as a Crown dependency was becoming still more irksome. In pursuance of the powers granted by the Act, a Select Committee of the Legislative Council was appointed in 1852 to draw up a Constitution. As a result of the deliberations of this body, a remonstrance was despatched to the Secretary of State for the Colonies in which objection was taken to the form of Constitution which the Imperial Authorities proposed to grant, and after some negotiation the demands of the colonists were practically agreed to. In the report submitted by this Committee there was one extraordinary proposal. In their desire to copy as far as possible the British model, the Committee agreed to recommend an elective Assembly to represent the Commons and a nominated Council to represent the House of Peers. To provide for this Upper House the Committee recommended the establishment of an hereditary order of colonial nobility, from amongst the members of which the Upper House was to be chosen. The publication of the report raised a storm of indignation and ridicule in the metropolis. Numerously attended public meetings were held, and strongly-worded resolutions were unanimously

adopted denouncing the proposed establishment of a colonial peerage. Nevertheless, the Council proceeded to discuss the Committee's report in the ordinary course, but at length the tide of public opinion grew so strong that the objectionable aristocratic clause was removed, and the Constitution Act as it now stands was finally passed on the 21st December, 1853. Messrs. Wentworth and Deas-Thomson were deputed to proceed to England in order to facilitate the acceptance of the measure by the Imperial Parliament, and in July, 1855, Royal Assent was given to the necessary Bill, making the Constitution operative. The formal inauguration of the Constitution was performed by Governor Denison on the 19th December. Sir William Denison, who had just succeeded Governor Fitzroy, was sworn in under a commission from the Queen which revoked his former credentials and appointed him Governorin-Chief of New South Wales. The writs for the first Parliament were issued on the 22nd May, 1856.

It was unfortunate that the introduction of the new Constitution should have been coincident with the arrival of Sir William Denison. His unpopular reputation had preceded him from Tasmania, and his appointment to the Governorship of the colony was viewed with a considerable amount of distrust which his subsequent conduct seemed to justify.

The outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854 had caused no little apprehension in the minds of the people of New South Wales lest they should receive an unwelcome visit from some armed Russian cruiser. It was in consequence of this that Sir William Denison decided on making some attempt at fortifying the harbour of Port Jackson. Several forts were erected and guns placed in position; the forts and guns remain to this day, monuments of the want of foresight which led to their construction and of the ease with which public money can be thrown away in times of scare. To modern eyes the value of these preparations seems peculiarly ludicrous.

The first Ministry under Responsible Government, short-lived though it was, is worthy of record as marking a new stage in the Colony's progress. Its personnel was as follows:-Stuart Alexander Donaldson, Colonial Secretary; Thomas Holt, Colonial Treasurer; William Montagu Manning, Attorney-General; John Bayley Darvall, SolicitorGeneral; George Robert Nichols, Auditor-General; and William C. Mayne, Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council, Nichols was also Secretary for Lands and Works in this Administration. Donaldson, Manning, and Darvall were appointed Members of the Executive Council on the 29th April, 1856, but they did not take office until the 6th June, as some preliminary arrangements were necessary before they vacated their seats as Members of the Legislative Assembly. Mr. Alexander Warren was also appointed a Member of the Executive Council on the 21st May, 1856, but resigned without entering upon the duties of the office.