Page:The new British province of South Australia.djvu/88

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OF THE COLONY.
69

ment's reflection would lead them to use other words.

They do not mean, though they say so, out of the way with respect to England, but positively out of the way ; that is, isolated and distant from the rest of the world; 'down in the corner,' as my grandmother said.

"This old woman's notion appears to arise from con fusion of ideas. Because New Holland is more distant from England than some well-known distant places, the vulgar suppose that it must also be more distant from those places. Whereas the very contrary is the fact; the distance of those places from England placing them near to New Holland. There is a great difference, in short, between looking to a place and looking from it; and my grandmother thought there was no difference.

Now the situation of a country is of importance to those who live in it, rather than to those who do not; and the former also will, looking from the country, make the truest estimate of what good or evil may belong to its position with respect to other countries. Fancy yourself ere, therefore. And, for fear of my grandmother's 'down in the corner,' look at a globe; or divide a chart of the world, transposing the parts laterally, but without turning them upside down.

"Where is England? Up in the left-hand corner.

And New Holland? Let an English writer answer:—'In order to obtain a connected view of the loftiest and most extensive system of mountains upon the globe, we must suppose ourselves placed in New Holland, with our face turned towards the north. America will then be on the right; Asia and Africa on the left. From Cape Horn to Behring's Strait, along the western coast of America, there is almost an uninterrupted range of the highest mountains: from Behring's Strait again, succeeds an enormous line, passing in a south- westerly direction through Asia, leaving China and Hindostan to the south, somewhat interrupted as it approaches Africa, but still to be looked upon as continuing its course in the moun-