But to sever the links of kindred, and to abandon the homes of our fathers after years of happy tranquillity, is a sacrifice the magnitude of which is unquestionable.  The feelings by which men are influenced under such circumstances have a claim to our respect.  Indeed, no class of persons can have a stronger hold upon our sympathies than those whom unmerited adverse fortune obliges to seek a home in a distant country.

Far, therefore, be it from me to dispute a single expression of regret to which they may give utterance.  It must, however, he remembered that the deepest feelings of anguish are providentially alleviated in time.  Our heaviest misfortunes are frequently repaired by industry and caution.  The sky clears up, as it were:  new interests engage the attention, and the cares of a family or the improvement of a newly acquired property engross those moments which would otherwise be spent in vain and unprofitable regrets.

Description of immigrants; most likely to Prosper.

It cannot be doubted that persons such as I have described, whose conduct has hitherto been regulated by prudence, and whose main object is to provide for their children, are the most valuable members of every community, whether young or old.  To such men few countries hold out greater prospects of success than New South Wales; for the more we extend our enquiries, the more we shall find that the success of the emigrant in that colony depends upon his prudence and foresight rather than on any collateral circumstance of climate or soil; and to him who can be satisfied with the gradual acquirement of competency, it is the land of promise.  Blessed with a climate of unparalleled serenity, and of unusual freedom from disease, the settler has little external cause of anxiety, little apprehension of sickness among his family or domestics, and little else to do than to attend to his own immediate interests.  I should wish to illustrate the observations by two or three instances of their practical bearing and tendency.

Cases of emigrants; causes of success or failure.

It was on my return from my second expedition, that I visited Lieut. ****** who resides in the southern parts of the colony.  The day after my arrival, he took me round his property, and explained the various improvements he had made, considering the small means with which he had commenced.  At this part of our conversation, we came within view of his house, a substantial weather-board cottage.  “I trust,” said I, turning to him, “you will excuse the question I am about to ask; for your frankness emboldens me to propose it, and on your answer much of the effect of what you have been saying will depend.  In effecting these various improvements, and in the building of that house, have you been obliged to embarrass yourself, or are they free from incumbrance?”—­“Your