Page:A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume 2.djvu/293

Port Jackson.]

ing extract from the official returns in 1803, the fifteenth year after the establishment of the colony, will show its progress in a more ostensible manner. The number of wild horned cattle was supposed to exceed that of the tame, and to increase faster.

Amongst the obstacles which opposed themselves to the more rapid advancement of the colony, the principal were, the vicious propensities of a large portion of the convicts, a want of more frequent communication with England, and the prohibition to trading with India and the western coasts of South America, in consequence of the East-India-Company's charter. As these difficulties become obviated and capital increases, the progress of the colonists will be more rapid; and if the resources from government be not withdrawn too early, there is little doubt of New South Wales being one day a flourishing country, and of considerable benefit to the commerce and navigation of the parent state.