a race so nearly extinct! And, in the mild spirit of Christian charity, may they forget the wrongs of their nation, and exemplify in their own persons and characters the triumphs of Christianity!"
In 1834, Mr. Henry Nickolls was appointed Superintendent, at 182l. 10s. salary; Mr. Robert Clark, Catechist, at 120l; Mr. Loftus Dickenson, Store-keeper; and Mr. Allen (who subsequently married a daughter of Mr. Robinson's), the Surgeon of the establishment. In that year there were, not less than 30 Whites to look after the 120 Blacks.
It is evident that Governor Arthur did not feel satisfied with his prisoners being kept in the Straits; for he made a proposition to the Home Government to let them loose on the southern shore of the continent of New Holland, on the site of the present colonies of Victoria and South Australia, founded directly after the suggestion made by Colonel Arthur. The Secretary for the Colonies, Lord Glenelg, objected on humane grounds. Varying his scheme, we find the Governor next proposing that Mr. Robinson, who had just brought in his last party of wanderers, should proceed to that opposite coast, with some of the Flinders Island Aborigines, to civilize the wild Australian Blacks. That idea being abandoned, he resolved to send Mr. Robinson to take charge of the island prison. He took command in November 1835.
Agreeably to his temperament, he came with a clash of trumpets. Nothing had been done before him, and he would and could do all that was necessary. With his accustomed energy, he threw himself into the work of reformation, and certainly revived the spirits of the decaying tribes.
At a public meeting, in 1838, held at Sydney, he is reported to have brought testimony to show the dreadful state on the island before he went there; showing that the place had more the appearance of a menagerie, than the habitation of human beings. He then gave the following narrative of his success on the island:—"Their present condition could best be described by reading some replications to certain queries which had been addressed to him by the Government. The tribes formerly most opposed to each other were now the most friendly. If excited to anger, a look was sufficient to allay their feelings. They were placed under no kind of restraint, but enjoyed every degree of
