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than five meetings on different subjects yesterday, which I attended—church and missionary meetings, and temperance meetings, and road meetings, and so on. It is strange that with all the ships that have come, prices are still as high as ever—£8 for a cask of pork; 1s. for a pair of high-low shoes; wine at 52s. a dozen (sherry), &c. Irwin has got out some wine from London; best white Marsala at 3s. 10d. a gallon, sherry at 4s. 3d., and port at 7s. We are obliged to have these things here, although I use very little myself, and, as a temperance man, I have not tasted spirit for more than a year past.
Sunday.—Mr. Mitchell was at Henley Park this day, but he was so tired that he begged me to read all the service for him, and, having read the full service in the morning with a long sermon, I found it quite enough for one day, and a very warm day it was. My grapes are now ripe. I have abundance, but they are soon over.
Monday.—Went up to see the flock on my new farm. They are at a place called Menolup. They will put up this week a stock yard, 20 yards square, made of mahogany post rails and close paling. They (the sheep) appear to do well there as yet; if they continue to do so all the year I shall have made a good selection, as, from the situation of the grant—having the brook which gives a command of the only water in that neighbourhood—I have command of a good range of pasture. It is nine square miles long, and another long narrow piece at the end of that again, nearly a mile long.
Jan. 26th.—Arrived here last night, but was so tired and sleepy that I could not write. We have had a busy week. When I went down I found all the people in arms about a fresh notice which our Governor was about to issue, which would have very materially affected many deserving settlers. The notice was that in future no stock which was not the actual property of the owner of the land would be suffered to count as doing the location duties of any land. The general
