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The morals of the colony are by no means so debauched as the tongue
of prejudice has too frequently asserted; on the contrary, virtuous
characters are not rare, and honorable principles are not less
prevalent here than in other communities of equal extent and limited
growth. The instances of drunkenness, dishonesty, and their
concomitant offences, are not more common than in the mother
country; and those amongst the convicts who are disposed to return
to their old habits, and re-commence their depredations upon society
are deterred by the severe punishment which awaits their detection:
There are many also amongst the prisoners themselves, who are now
striking examples of probity, industry, temperance, and virtue; and
some have obtained a remission of the punishment which occasioned
their residence in the settlement, in consequence of the signal and
radical change which had taken place in their inclinations and
behavior. Where there is society their must exist offences; but, on
the whole, considering the nature of the colony of New South Wales,
the morals of the people are as free from glaring defects, as those
of any other tract of equal population in the habitable world; and
the characters which are celebrated for their virtues are as
numerous, in proportion, as those which are to be found in other
countries, where civilization and prosperity have made greater
progress, and where individuals have greater inducement to labor,
and the prospect of a brighter reward for their industrious
exertions.
The Present Picture Of New South Wales, 1811 |
