Page:The State and Position of Western Australia.djvu/147

 Excellency, the Governor, has been pleased to appoint Mr. F. Armstrong interpreter, with a limited salary, at present; but it will be subject to further improvement in proportion to the increased utility of the institution. Mr. Armstrong brings to the task a considerable knowledge of the native language, obtained through several years of diligent inquiry, and frequent association with the natives in their primitive haunts; we are gratified, therefore, to find so judicious a selection made, and are disposed to augur favourably of this further attempt at conciliation, under the direction of one who has hitherto voluntarily devoted his time to the acquirement of the native language, and has zealously sought an intimate acquaintance with the habits and manners of the tribes around us.

A slight sketch of the proposed system to be adopted may not be unacceptable to our readers; we shall therefore glance over a few of the principal heads. At the outset the natives are to understand that they are to procure their own means of subsistence, either by the remuneration they may derive from work or labour performed for individuals, or by the exercise of their own native arts, such as fishing, hunting, &c. It does not form any part of the intended plan to maintain the natives at the public expense, or support them in a state of indolence,—a boat will be provided for them, for the purpose of fishing, and any surplus quantity they may have will be disposed of for their benefit, under the direction of Mr. Armstrong. They will not be subject to any restraint, but have free ingress and egress, at all times, to such grounds as may be set apart for them; we believe it is in contemplation to devote the grounds under Mount Eliza to that purpose, to which they can have access without passing through the town.

The advantages the natives will have in attaching themselves to the institution, will be—protection from violence, whether from each other or from white people, medical aid in time of sickness, and a regular supply of food ensured by cautious guidance and a provident superintendence; which it is hoped will gradually bring them to a more civilized and happier state of existence.

The following we believe to be the substance of the objects to which it is the desire of his Excellency that the interpreter should direct the attention of the natives:—

1st. That the Government is actuated, in forming this institution, by a disposition to do the natives a good.

2nd. That Mr. Armstrong, understanding the native language, and