THE AUSTRALASIAN LEAGUE. "The League and Solemn Engagement of the Australasian Colonies, Declared by the Delegates in the Conference held in Melbourne, 1st February, 1851. " W h e r e a s , in 1840, by an Order-in-Council, the practice of transporting convicts to N e w South Wales was abandoned by the Crown : A n d Whereas, by divers promises the Government of Great Britain engaged not to send convicts from the United K i n g d o m to N e w South Wales, N e w Zealand, Victoria, or King George's Sound : A n d Whereas, by an Act of the British Parliament, transportation to South Australia was positively prohibited: A n d Whereas, Lieutenant Governor Denison, in 1S47, declared to the Colonists of V a n Diemen's Land, H e r Majesty's most gracious purpose, that transportation to that island should be discontinued : A n d Whereas the colony of V a n Diemen's Land has been deeply injured by the pouring in of enormous masses of transported offenders : A n d Whereas divers and repeated attempts have been made to depart from the letter and spirit of these promises : A n d Whereas the avowed object of H e r Majesty's Secretary of State is to transfuse the convicts disembarked in V a n Diemen's Land through the Australasian Colonies, and thus to evade the spirit of the promises and Act of Parliament so m a d e : A n d Whereas large tracts of land have been purchased by the colonists from the Crown, m a n y millions of capital invested in improvements, and m a n y thousands of H e r Majesty's subjects have settled in Australasia on the pledged faith of the Crown not to disturb their social welfare by the importation of crime : A n d Whereas the native Australasians are entitled to all the rights and privileges of British subjects, and to the sympathy and protection of the British nation : A n d Whereas m a n y and varied efforts have been m a d e to induce H e r Majesty's Ministers and the British Parliament to terminate the practice of transportation to these colonies, but without success—Now, therefore, the Delegates of these colonies, in Conference assembled, do declare their League and Solemn Engagement, to the effect following :— " That they engage not to employ any persons hereafter arriving under sentence of transportationforcrime committed in Europe. " T h a t they will use all the powers they possess, official, electoral, and legislative, to prevent the establishment of English prisons or penal settlements within their bounds; that they will refuse assent to any projects to facilitate the administration of such penal systems, and that they will seek the repeal of all regulations, and the removal of all establishments for such purposes. " That they solemnly engage with each other to support, by their advice, their money, and their countenance, all w h o m a y suffer in the lawful promotion of this cause."
So far everything went in a most encouraging manner, and as the most unerring indication of the public pulsation, the following gentlemen subscribed one hundred guineas each to the League Fund :— The Mayor (W. Nicholson), W . M . Bell, W . Westgarth, M.L.C., Jackson, R a e and Co., G. S. Brodie, Henry Moor, M.L.C., W . F. Stawell, H u g h Glass, Fulton and Smith, Joseph Raleigh, Heap and Grice, Bear and Son, Charles Williamson and Co., Germain Nicholson, Dal. Campbell and Co., John Dinwoodie, Matthew Gibson, Mickle and Bakewell, John M'Donnell, Tuinbull Brothers, J. R. and J. Murphy, George Ward Cole, Alison and Knight, Dalgety, Gore and Co. The roll was soon swelled to thirty, irrespective, of course, of lesser subscriptions; and it would be impossible to have a stronger criterion of public spirit and earnestness. In these times of semi-million acres and large capitalists, thirty " one-hundred guinea " donations m a y be sneered at, and held of small account; but comparing the condition of the then Port Phillip with the now Victoria, the population, trade, developed resources, and individual wealth of the two periods, it will not be an exaggerated estimate of the test of 1851 to multiply by ten, and imagine 300 of the colonists of to day subscribing one thousand guineas each to ransom the country from some looming public calamity ! It is difficult to conceive any possible contingency that could cause such an opening of purse strings. If Doomsday were approaching, and a postponement of the Last Judgment could be negotiated, such an event might happen ; but nothing short of some such extreme visitation could produce a corresponding result.
A COUNCIL OF NINE.
The next important step was the election of an Executive body of nine members to administer the affairs of the Victorian Branch of the Australasian League, and much interest was excited as to the selection. T h e Rev. J. West, with Messrs. W . F. Stawell, W . W . Tripp, and W . Kerr were appointed a Sub-Committee; the election to be held on the 21st February, the voting to be by ballot, and the W i n Diemen's Land Delegates (West and Weston) to officiate as Scrutineers. There were seventeen candidates, and the following were elected :—William Westgarth, M.L.C. ; William Kerr, William Nicholson
