fied adherence, withdrew their names, and when the task of securing a subscribed capital was commenced, one and all forsook their posts, and the matter was, perforce, allowed to drop for a time.
During the period to which we have referred, there are no detailed records, so far as is known, of Mr. Gouger's actions. If he kept a diary then, there is no trace of its existence, but from contemporary sources it is clear that he was in no wise cast down by his first defeat, and was actively engaged in originating a new society.
At first his society was simply denominated "The Emigration Society," but in process of time it assumed the more ambitious title of "The National Colonisation Society," of which Robert Gouger was the secretary. And here a few pages of a rough note-book, dating from February 3rd, 1830, to May 12th, 1830, throw some light on his movements. Upon him devolved the task of influencing public opinion by articles in the press, by advertisement and appeal, and eventually by personally setting forth the scheme, by word of mouth and by pamphlet, to members of the Government, and of both Houses of Parliament, and to men in high positions in the commercial world.
The object of the society was not to found a colony in South Australia, but to collect and diffuse information as to the best places for establishing colonies, and to explain and recommend the Wakefield system as the basis of any operations of a fixed and definite character they might undertake.
