been much increased had I not felt convinced that the system of education
adopted, possessed many serious defects. In the first place, sufficient
care did not seem to have been taken to recommend the schools to the
natives, and to induce them to send their children voluntarily. That it
was necessary to resort to some means of effecting this beyond mere
persuasion, will be evident when we recollect how useful even the
youngest member of an Australian family is to its parents. Almost as soon
as the child begins to walk, certainly as soon as it is capable of
receiving instruction, light tasks, even in the hunting expeditions, are
allotted to it; so that, to remove either boys or girls, and take them to
school, is, in reality, to deprive their friends of assistance, which to
them is valuable. For this reason, some compensating advantage should be
offered to the father, to prevail on him to send his children to school.

Again, when once pupils have been procured, it is exceedingly unwise to
allow them to maintain a constant intercourse with their tribe, and be
thus subjected to deteriorating influences that must almost irresistibly
combat the beneficial effects of their education. But it is needless to
dwell further on this subject, as Mr. Eyre has so completely stated the
question in his late work.

REMARKS ON THE SYSTEM FOR CIVILISING THE NATIVES.

I cannot, however, refrain from alluding to another point in connection
with this matter; namely, that when I visited South Australia, all
instruction was communicated in the native language. My attention had
already been drawn to the subject on visiting Tahiti, in 1835, when I
perceived with regret, that the missionaries, instead of endeavouring to
introduce the English tongue, persisted in imparting instruction in a
kind of corrupted dialect, of which the words were for the most part