Page:The Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales.djvu/189

 when it was intimated to the settlers, by the government, that the natives were, in every respect, to be treated as British subjects, and that any person would be severely dealt with, who in his conduct towards them in any wise infringed the laws of England, the case became very different. Cases, such as I have described, became common, and the natives, encouraged by impunity, have succeeded in destroying an immense quantity of the property, and sacrificing the lives of many of the settlers and their servants. Exasperated by these repeated attacks, and by the want of protection by the Government, the latter have, I regret to say, been led to take the law into their own hands, and some of them I have no doubt, have been guilty of savage murders. The consequence has been mutual distrust, the natives are driven off the stations, and not allowed to approach the huts; if they see a white man they skulk into the bushes, and it is not till emboldened by superior numbers, or tempted by an opportunity to surprise, that they make their appearance for the purpose of some hostile act. I give to the executive the fullest credit for their anxiety to bring to justice, any of the natives who can be taken, and against whom satisfactory proof can be procured; but I think that I have shown enough to prove the difficulty of doing this. But supposing this difficulty overcome, suppose the savage arrested, and ready to be put upon his trial, an insuperable barrier has yet to be surmounted before this can take place. By the law of England no British subject can be put upon his trial, who is not of sufficient mental capacity to comprehend the proceedings of the court, and to exercise