Читать книгу The History of Tasmania (Vol. 1&2) - John West - Страница 18
ОглавлениеSECTION VI
The Australian colonies owe their pastoral wealth originally to Captain John Macarthur, of the 102nd regiment: he was assisted by the enterprise of Captain Waterhouse, of the royal navy, who, though a sailor and confessedly ignorant of pastoral affairs, conveyed to the colony the stock which laid the foundation of its fortunes. The sheep brought by the first fleet to New South Wales, were sacrificed to the necessities of the time: the cattle strayed, and were discovered long after grazing on the Nepean, increased to many hundreds. Several efforts were made by the New South Wales Corps to introduce a stock, chiefly for the knife; but the transmission was attended with considerable difficulty, and the greater portion died.
The basis of the New South Wales flocks was the Bengal: these, bearing hair, were mixed with sheep originally from Holland, and imported from the Cape. Mr. Macarthur having obtained some sheep from Ireland,[111] remarked the great, though accidental improvement in the fleece, which exhibited a mixture of wool, and gave the first hint of a great possible improvement. He then requested Captain Kent to procure sheep from the merino flocks of Colonel Gordon, at the Cape. These were forwarded by Captain Waterhouse (1797), who delivered to Macarthur three rams and five ewes, and retained a proportion himself.
The results surpassed expectation. The flocks of Bengal yielded to three or four crossings, and produced the finest wool. Thus the heaviest fleece, in 1801, was 3½ lbs.: the next season it improved to 5 lbs. The ewe produced wool worth 9d., her lamb's wool was valued at 3s.; and even the merino improved by the exchange of climate: its wool produced at the Cape being worth 4s. 6d., and at New South Wales 6s. The rate of increase was not less encouraging: the produce of fifty ewes, in seven years, was two thousand.
In 1803, Captain Macarthur visited England, and presented a memorial to the lords of the committee of the privy council on the pastoral capabilities of New South Wales. He requested the crown to grant the use of public lands and servants, and offered to supply the commissariat at a given price, and to sustain the entire risk or loss of his experiment. The statement of increase was doubted: the testimony respecting the quality of wool could not be disputed, as Macarthur had procured the certificates of eminent manufacturers. It was, however, asserted that the natural pasture would be unable to subsist flocks, and it was necessary to combat this objection. Macarthur proposed to sell his flock at their value to a company, and on credit; on condition that the company procured a grant from the crown for pasture. This was declined; but Lord Camden was requested by their lordships to encourage Macarthur, and he received in consequence permission to occupy the cow pastures, where natural fences prevented the intermixture of his flocks. A grant of 5,000 acres—ultimately of an additional 5,000—was made to him. Never was a reward more justly due, or given with less sacrifice.[112]
Mr. Macarthur procured from the royal flock at Kew, one ewe and nine rams:[113] with these he raised his flock to 6,000 (1818), and frequently sold pure merino rams at from £14 to £28 per head.
The merino stock of George III., from which the Australian stocks were partly drawn, was sent to that monarch by the Spanish cortes. The king's love of rural pleasures was thus instrumental in adding immense wealth to his empire.
It was not until 1820, that settlers of Van Diemen's Land entered the career of improvement. The original stock were introduced by Colonel Paterson: a mixture of Teeswater, Leicester, and Bengal breeds. The lieutenant-governor was anxious to improve the quality by an importation of merino lambs. By an engagement with Macarthur, three hundred were shipped at Sydney;[114] but more than one-third died: the rest were distributed to the settlers by lot, who gave the engagements to repay at the stipulated sum, and who received facilities for the experiment in suitable tickets of occupation. Macarthur received, at 7s. 6d. per acre, 4,368 acres of land for the 300 lambs, valued to the crown at £5 per head.[115] From this date the wool of the Tasmanian flocks became known to commerce.
Van Diemen's Land wool was not an article of export until 1819. Only 71,000 pounds had been sent to London from New South Wales, but some had realised even 7s. 6d. per lb.; in one instance 10s., it is said, by a friendly competition: a sum three times greater than the English price of the finest continental wool. A specimen had been manufactured for George IV., and which so pleased him that he directed Sir J. Bloomfield to enquire if more could be obtained in England. There seemed now no hesitation in giving credit to Macarthur's prediction, that the boundless pastures of New South Wales would relieve the manufacturers of dependence on Spain.
That great encouragement had not been afforded, and greater progress accomplished, may be considered surprising. The wool of commerce was still inconsiderable; although the flocks of both colonies amounted to 200,000. Before the merino was first introduced, the fleece was considered worthless. The operation of shearing was often delayed until the sheep were injured: it was a deduction from the profit. The wool was burned, or thrown into the stock-yards as manure.
In 1819, the captain of the Regalia accepted a proportion of Van Diemen's Land wool, in exchange for merchandise: it had no market price, its expenses were considerable, and a duty of 3d. was levied at London. A sample was seen by Mr. Hopkins lying in the docks in the worst possible condition: the speculation was a failure. The colonial government bought several tons a few months after at 3d. per lb. for mattresses, a sum that scarcely paid for its conveyance from the interior. The duty, formerly 3d., was reduced, on the recommendation of the commissioner, to 1d. per lb.
To Mr. Henry Hopkins the public are indebted for the first appreciation of Tasmanian wool. In September, 1821, he offered by advertisement a price in money, and bought at 4d. per lb. Twelve bales sold in London, the entire wool export of the colony, for 7d. per lb., or £88: the expenses were nearly half that sum. The merchants, however, continued to purchase, and the settlers to improve their flocks. In 1823, five hundred and fifty bales were exported in the Deveron, and an equal quantity in other vessels; and the wool of Clarendon rivalled the flocks at Port Jackson.
