ages existed, and to change their very instincts by the mere force of a master will, as typified in the white man, expecting in their shortsightedness to transform what always has been the lowest grade of humanity into a useful and creditable element in the commonwealth. Could any scheme be more Quixotic? We find by actual tabulated facts that the closer we bring the opposing races together the faster the blacks die out; that the white man's kindness—mistaken kindness—is far more fatal to our blacks than his rifle; that the aborigines are utterly unsuited for protracted labor, and that they pine and die under confinement within defined limits. And still we wish to force all these fatal observances upon them under the so-called guise of humanity! Nothing that we can do will alter the inscrutable and withal immutable laws which direct our progress on this globe. By these laws the native races of Australia were doomed on the advent of the white man, and the only thing left for us to do is to assist in carrying them out with as little cruelty as possible, and to endeavor to extend the period of their action over as great a span of time as we possibly can. But any attempt on our part at coercive amelioration can only tend to expedite the final result, instead of lengthening their days in the land. It is not at all improbable that a mixed race would spring into existence could we conquer the tendency to infanticide which obtains in the tribes. As a rule half-bloods have a finer physique than the mother race, but four-fifths of these children are put to death and generally eaten. Were it possible to improve our blacks by the establishment of reserves—and an experiment might be tried at some suitable spot on our coast, where a dugong fishery or two would offer them employment, assimilating in some degree with their natural instincts—it would be our bounden duty to supply money and material for such establishments; but it becomes imperative to discover, first, whether such reserves will be of any use, and, secondly, whether the rate of mortality increases or diminishes under such a system. As to the many assertions made concerning native troopers being beyond control when excited, &c., I can only say that they are utterly untrue, and I speak with the authority not only of my own long experience but also with that of many Native Police officers. Troopers are quite as amenable to order as white men and in fact more so, and any trooper shooting a gin or child, even by accident, would be scouted by the whole detachment. Had the veil of mystery which the Government in its wisdom has thought fit to cast over the actions of this force been lifted years ago, the public would have seen with its own eyes that most of the heart-sickening atrocities with which the Native Police has been credited have little foundation in fact. I do not assert that atrocities have not been committed, but I do assert that these have been the exceptions, certainly never the rule. Innocent blacks have been shot with the guilty, but is this to be wondered at when we consider the difficulty of identifying the actual criminals? Take the case of Sub-inspector Tompson on the Lower Burdekin as far back as 1869 or '70. Here the blacks were killing cattle wholesale. After continual patrolling he at last succeeded in penning the tribes on Mount Dryander and keeping them there for three days. He then sent some gins to them with an offer of peace, if they would promise to leave the cattle alone. This was the second embassy this gentle man had sent, the answer to the first having been, "We'll kill cattle when we want then; you shoot us when you can catch us." But on this occasion he showed them that they were entirely at his mercy, and, although he carefully abstained from allowing a single blackfellow to be shot, a bullet striking the rock close to any that showed themselves proved how utterly helpless they were against the police carbines. They promised to keep the peace, and he then sent them word to go and camp at some particular spot until they heard from him. Mr. Tompson tried several stations in succession, but without being able to gain admittance for his black proteges. At last, however, Mr. Bode allowed them to come in, and six months afterwards they were no longer wild blacks. This is what we must endeavour to do with all the districts which are sufficiently settled; but I cannot agree with the Queenslander's idea, of substituting white men for the native troopers. And this chiefly for two reasons: We must rule the blacks by fear, teaching them the uselessness of waging war on the settlers, and to do this the native troopers are far superior to white men, as they will follow and secure malefactors where a white man could not possibly penetrate. It is useless arguing that, because an officer accompanies his boys through scrubs and over ranges, every white man can do the same. Only constant training will enable a man to do so. How many white men can undergo the hardships and privations which a Native Police officer has to put up with. The native troopers also can communicate with the blacks, which a white man is unable to do. But the great difficulty of such a change is its cost. A native trooper costs the Government about £45 per annum
