SETTLEMENT.

The Home Government directed that in this their place of banishment every attention should be paid to the wants of the aborigines, and a liberal scale of necessaries provided.  The officers of the establishment originally consisted of the superintendent, medical officer, catechist and storekeeper; but when the buildings, etc. for the settlement, were completed, the convicts were withdrawn, which diminished the number so much, that it was deemed practicable to reduce the staff of officers, and the whole duties of the four departments above alluded to devolved on one person, under the name of Surgeon-Superintendent.  The combination of so many duties has, unfortunately, necessitated the neglect of some portion or another, possibly of the most material.  The Sabbath afternoon is the only time that can be set apart for the religious instruction of the natives.  This is to be regretted, as we have ample evidence of how capable they are of receiving it, in the lasting effects produced by Mr. Clarke, who sometime since filled the office of storekeeper; and for whom they all continue to feel great veneration, and to exhibit that respect which is due to a parent.  On our visit in 1842 we heard all the natives of both sexes, old and young, sing several hymns, taught them by this excellent person.  A few comprehended the full meaning of the words they uttered; and all, no doubt, might be brought to do so if proper instructions were again granted them.

Walter and Mary Ann, a married couple, who had recently returned from Port Phillip, where they had been living in the family of the former superintendent, Mr. Robinson, were so civilized, and proficient in all the plain parts of education, that they possessed great influence over their countrymen, who, incited by the contemplation of their superiority, were apparently desirous of acquiring knowledge.  The barracks in which the natives dwell form a square of good stone buildings; but Walter and his wife have a separate cottage, with a piece of land attached.  Mary Ann is a very tolerable needlewoman, and capable of teaching the others; some of whom, encouraged by the prizes that are awarded to industry, already assist in making their own dresses.

MORTALITY AMONG NATIVES.

The men, to whom inducements are also held out to labour in farming, etc., are, however, generally indolent.  They still retain a taste for their original wild habits, taking to the bush, occasionally, for several days together; and in order to enjoy all the freedom of limb to which they had been accustomed, throwing off their European clothing.  This practice has been expressly prohibited, as from the sudden resumption of savage habits, and the abandonment of the covering to which they had become accustomed, severe illness resulted.  To this may in part be attributable the rapid mortality which exists among them, and which leads us to suppose that at no distant period their