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 therefore, never be omitted.

In martial courage, they are perhaps not excelled by any people in the world. The savages of America, when an army is thrown into confusion, will scalp them by thousands; but they can never be brought to face their enemies in the heat of the battle. Not so with the tribes of Derbal. Though fire-arms be perfectly new to them, it is allowed by those who served in the Peninsula, that they never saw men stand their ground better. They are admirable marksmen; and will make sure at a hundred yards distance. Even now the war shout and the googoomittle, make the stoutest quail. But if in addition to their knowledge of the country, they had fire-arms and a little discipline, the rifle brigade would hardly be a match for them, they would put an end to the settlement in less than a month.

When they are sick, they sometimes resort to charms; rubbing the breast or belly, drawing the hand away, and snapping the finger and thumb. Their practical operations are confined to pressure and bleeding. If it be a pain in the head or bowels; the patient lies down on his back, and desires some one to stand on his forehead or belly, and press so much of his weight as he is able to bear. In bleeding they never open the veins. But topical bleeding is common among them; and is performed with a sharp stone.—There are few of them that cannot show many scars, from spear wounds, which proves the frequency of their wars. But their flesh heals readily. This may be attributed to their drinking no spirituous liquors.

I have already observed, that they are formed into distinct tribes; and that the whole country is divided into districts. But, though they have places to which they are accustomed to resort for encampment, they have no fixed habitation and generally move about from place to place in large bodies.—Private property seems to be utterly unknown among them. The game and the fish are considered the common property of the tribe; and as every dispute between the different tribes is decided by the spear, they are utter strangers to the quirks and quibbles of the law.

There can be no doubt barbarian though they be, that they possess all the tender feelings which belong to human nature. I have seen them weep at the sight of each others woe; while the tears poured unaffectedly down their sable cheaks; indicating at once their common relationship to the human family, and their forlorn condition; for they sorrow as them that have no hope.

They have no knowledge of letters; and yet I hold in my possession an attempt at writing by one of them. He solicited pen, ink, and paper, which then lay before me, for the purpose of answering my questions in this way more satisfactorally. He did not take a moment to think. The specimen is Hierogliphical. It consists of men, animals, birds, &c.; and is traced in circles, round the central character with which he began. It seems to have some resemblance to Chinese. But what surprised me most of all, was, his giving a character for an abstract term. This he did in more than one instance. The specimen would be considered as man's rudest attempt at letters, by those who do not believe writing to have been coeval with language. It is generally allowed that the natives of Australia have some resemblance to the Malays. The first (as it stood when this was written, a few day's ago) word in my vocabulary is pure Hebrew. The word used in salutation at meeting by the tribes to the southward of the settlement is also pure Hebrew. This I conceive, affords conclusive evidence of their connexion with the old world at some period or other; and that they are of Asiatic origin. But how sadly does this upset the theory of Lord Kaimes and other infidel writers; that man from the rank of a brute, or barbarian, raised himself by degrees to all the polish and intelligence of civil life. Here, the descendants of those who built the tower of Babel and founded the capital of one of the most renowned empires of antiquity, are without a single vestage of architectural knowledge; and though their ancestors must have crossed the Sea from the Northern to the Southern hemisphere, in a barque of some sort, they know not how to construct a katamaran, or, that rudest of all attempts at navigation, a canoe, made from a single tree. Instead of rising in the scale of being, it is clear beyond dispute that man, without the aid of revelation descends. To the truth of this important fact, so subversive of the great leading principles of infidelity, the circumstances in which we have found this branch of the human family, afford abundance of confirmatory evidence. They have lost every trace of civilized life; and retain only those characteristics of man which it is impossible for him to lose, under any circumstances; namely, the power of language, the erectness of his form, and dominion over the lower orders of creation. This is neither theory, nor imagination. It is matter of fact. Few things therefore, are more interesting than the examination of the different languages of nations. The cognate character of languages goes far to prove the common origin of the human family; and establishes the great truth, revealed in the scriptures, 'That God made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth.

Almost every tribe has a different dialect. The difference in some cases, is merely provincial; but in others it is so great as to be unintelligible. Still, like the languages of the different nations of Europe it seems to have a common origin; whether that origin be Sanscrit or Hebrew, I am not prepared to say.

The following is a list of words that are precisely the same here and at King George's Sound.

In the following list, the difference seems to be provincial.

In the following list, the words for the same thing are so different that the parties speaking must be unintelligible to one another.

The number of letters necessary to form the alphabet, a point not less important than difficult in the literary formation of a language, I have fixed at twenty-two. This is precisely the number of characters which compose the Hebrew alphabet. The Ain of the Hebrew, the pronunciation of which has been so long a desideratum to the philologists of Europe, these people seem to possess in perfection. But they have neither the Zain, the Samech, nor the Schin of the Hebrews. The letter s, they are incapable of pronouncing. While, therefore, I have taken the English alphabet as a basis of that for the language of Derbal, it being desirable, on account of the facility which the sameness of character will afford to the English scholar in the acquisition of the language, I have been obliged to throw out every letter which, was in the least allied in sound to the letter s. As an attempt is now making in Eastern Australia to acquire the language of the natives of that part of the continent, it would be desirable to know what are the number of characters necessary to form the alphabet there; and whether the language be accompanied by the same characteristics in pronunciation. If it be, and I am strongly inclined to think it is, it will prove that the language of the whole of the tribes of Australia was once the same, and that they were originally one people.

Here opens an important and interesting view of the subject. The adoption of the English character and the use of a common alphabet, will not only afford a facility of communication between those who engage in the great work of evengalizing the aboriginal inhabitants, but may tend to assimilate the different dialects; so that millions of this vast continent, may yet communicate with one another in one tongue, and sing the praises of the Redeemer of men in the same language.

The language of Derbal seems to possess a great deal of orginatliy. But there is either something very perculiar in its construction; or, it is characterised by great irregularity in the declension of its nouns and conjugation of its verbs. In either case, to acquire it accurately, and commit it to writing correctly will be no easy task.

The whole of each tribe are bards; and their evenings are generally spent around their fires, singing, or rather chanting, their poetical compositions. I have reason to believe that their history and geography are handed down from generation to generation orally in verse.

How often, in the history of human affairs, is the favourable opportunity for the attainment of a great object allowed to pass unimproved and how vain, afterwards, are the tears of the widow and the orphan, or the regrets of the historian? It is impossible—it is utter folly to attempt—to govern any people without a knowledge of their language. Man is a moral agent, and can be influenced only by moral considerations. Nor do I see how it is possible for the Superintendent and assistant superintendent of the native tribes to find leisure to devote themselves to the acquisition of the native language, consistently with the discharge of the duties of their office; namely, the protecting the property of the settlers, and watching the irregular and uncertain movements of several thousand houseless savages, throughout a widely extended settlement. I do not see how they can find leisure, even if they had the inclination, so to spend their time; but it is not every gentleman, however, distinguished in the service of his country, who has a taste or talents for literary pursuits. Nor will scraps that may be picked up at random occasionally by individuals, badly pronounced and perhaps still worse understood, ever answer any important purpose. If ever the scriptures are to be translated into the native languages of Australia—if ever the British Government intend to civilize the aboriginal inhabitants and communicate to the millions of this vast continent a knowledge of christian religion, the language must be thoroughly and accurately acquired, and committed to writing grammatically; and this can be accomplished only by gentlemen, at leisure to devote themselves exclusively to this object,—gentlemen who are more or less imbued with a missionary feeling, and who have a predilection for a literary mode of life.

But what is to be done? The local Government are short of funds; and the home Government strictly enjoin economy in the expenditure. In the mean time, while the natives are visiting the capital peaceably, they are carrying on the war against us in the heart of the settlement, after their own manner; not only with the spear, but the torch; that most dangerous of all weapons, in a country so full of combustibles; and the Gazette announces the destruction of a thousand pounds' worth of property, in the short space of fourteen days. This sum alone would be sufficient to effect the acquisition of the native language; and there are those in the settlement who would mortgage property to the full amount for this purpose. But here again we are set fast. There is no Bank to make the advance, either for this or for any other purpose; and the local Government cannot, of course, take such a step without express orders from Home. Yet there never was, and perhaps never will be, such a favourable opportunity for commencing this great undertaking. Though the natives have not made peace with us, they are ready and willing to be taught. There are those who are ready to devote themselves to the work; and who would accomplish the object too, without any expense to either the Government or the public; and yet it cannot be done,—not for the want of property or means, but for the want of a circulating medium.

(To be continued.)

TO CAPITALISTS. WANTS A SITUATION, AS BAILIFF. A Man who perfectly understands the most improved modes of agriculture, breeding, rearing, and feeding of all kinds of stock.—For particulars, apply to the Editor of this paper.

Edited, Printed, and Published by CHARLES MACFAULL, at the Gazette Office, Perth

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