The Book Of The Bush, George Dunderdale [thriller novels to read .txt] 📗

Stores,  And A Similar Demand Was Made At Each Of

Them For The 20 Pounds License Fee,  Which Was Paid After Some Demur,

And The Licenses Were Signed And Handed To The Storekeepers.

 

Davy's Hut Was The Next Visited.

 

"Who Owns This Building?" Asked Mr. Tyers.

 

"I Do," Said Davy.  "I Put It Up Myself."

 

"Have You A License?"

Story 14 (Gippsland Under The Law..) Pg 197

 

"No,  I Have Not.  Never Was Asked For One Since I Came Here,  And I

Don't See Why I Should Be Asked For One Now."

 

"Well,  I Ask You Now.  You Are In Illegal Occupation Of Crown Lands,

And You Must Pay Me Twenty Pounds,  Or I Shall Have To Destroy Your

Hut."

 

"I Hav'nt Got The Twenty Pounds," Davy Said:  "Never Had As Much

Money In My Life; And I Wouldn't Pay It To You If I Had It.  I Would

Like To Know What Right The Government,  Or Anybody Else,  Has To Ask

Me For Twenty Pounds For Putting Up A Hut On This Sandbank?  I Have

Been Here With My Family Pretty Nigh On To Three Years; Sometimes

Nearly Starved To Death,  Living A Good Deal Of The Time On Birds,  And

'Possums,  And Roast Flathead; And What Right,  In The Name Of Common

Sense,  Has The Government To Send You Here To Make Me Pay Twenty

Pounds?  What Has The Government Done For Me Or Anybody Else In

Gippsland?  They Have Already Taken Every Penny They Could Get Out Of

The Settlers,  And,  As Far As I Know,  Have Not Spent One Farthing On

This Side Of The Mountains.  They Did Not Even Know There Was Such A

Country Till Mcmillan Found It.  It Belonged To The Blacks.  There

Was Nobody Else Here When We Came,  And If We Pay Anybody It Should Be

The Blackfellows.  Besides,  If I Had Had Stock,  And Money Enough To

Take Up A Run,  I Could Have Had The Pick Of Gippsland,  Twenty Square

Miles,  For Ten Pounds; And Because I Am A Poor Man You Want Me To Pay

Twenty Pounds For Occupying A Few Yards Of Sand.  Where Is The Sense

Of That,  I'd Like To Know?  If You Are An Honest Englishman,  You

Ought To Be Ashamed Of Yourself For Coming Here With Your Troopers

And Carbines And Pistols On Such A Business,  Sticking Up A Poor Man

For Twenty Pounds In The Name Of The Government.  Why,  No Bushrangers

Could Do Worse Than That."

 

"You Are Insolent,  My Man.  If You Don't Pay The Money At Once I'll

Give You Just Ten Minutes To Clear Out,  And Then I Shall Order My Men

To Burn Down Your Hut.  You Will Find That You Can't Defy The

Government With Impunity."

 

"Burn Away,  If You Like,  And Much Good May It Do You."  Pointing To

His Whaleboat On The Beach,  "There's The Ship I Came Here In From

Melbourne,  And That's The Ship I Shall Go Back In,  And You Daren't

Hinder Me."

 

Mr. Reeve Was Present,  Watching The Proceedings And Listening.  He

Had Influential Friends In Sydney,  Had A Station At Snake Ridge,  A

Special Survey On The Tarra,  And He Felt That It Would Be Advisable

To Pour Oil On The Troubled Waters.  He Said:

 

"I Must Beg Of You,  Mr. Tyers,  To Excuse Davy.  He Is Our Pilot,  And

There Is No Man In Gippsland Better Qualified For That Post,  Nor One

Whose Services Have Been So Useful To The Settlers Both Here And At

The Lakes.  We Have Already Requested The Government To Appoint Him

Pilot At The Port; We Are Expecting A Reply Shortly,  And It Will Be

Only Reasonable That He Should Be Allowed A Site For His Hut."

 

Story 14 (Gippsland Under The Law..) Pg 198

"You See,  Mr. Reeve,  I Must Do My Duty," Said Mr. Tyers,  "And Treat

All Alike.  I Cannot Allow One Man To Remain In Illegal Occupation,

While I Expel The Others."

 

"The Settlers Cannot Afford To Lose Their Pilot,  And I Will Give You

My Cheque For The Twenty Pounds," Said Mr. Reeve.

 

"Twelve Months Afterwards The Cheque Was Sent Back From Sydney,  And

Mr. Reeve Made A Present Of It To Davy.

 

"At This Time The Public Journals Used Very Strong Language In Their

Comments On The Action Of Governors And Government Officials,  And

Complaint Was Made In The House Of Commons That The Colonial Press

Was Accustomed To Use "A Coarseness Of Vituperation And Harshness Of

Expression Towards All Who Were Placed In Authority."  But Gentlemen

Were Still Civil To One Another,  Except On Rare Occasions,  And Then

Their Language Was A Strong As That Of The Journals,  E.G.:

 

"I,  Arthur Huffington,  Surgeon,  Residing At The Station Of Mr. W.

Bowman,  On The Ovens River,  Do Hereby Publicly Proclaim George

Faithful,  Settler On The King River,  To Be A Malicious Liar And A

Coward.

 

"Ovens River,  March 6th,  1844.

 

"You Will Find A Copy Of The Above Posted At Every Public-House

Between The Ovens And Melbourne,  And At The Corner Of Every Street In

The Town."

 

This Defiance Could Not Escape The Notice Of The Lawyers,  And They

Soon Got The Matter Into Their Own Hands.

 

Huffington Brought An Action Of Trespass On The Case For Libel

Against Faithful,  Damages 2,000 Pounds.

 

It Was All About Branding A Female Calf; "Duffing It" Was The Vulgar

Term,  And To Call A Settler "Duffer" Was More Offensive Than If You

Called Him A Murderer.

 

Mr. Stawell Opened The Pleadings,  Brushing Up The Fur Of The Two

Tiger Cats Thus:

 

"Here You Have Mr. Faithful--The Son Of His Father--The Pink Of

Superintendents--The Champion Of Crown Lands Commissioners--The

Fighting Man Of The Plains Of Goulburn--The Fastidious Beau Brummel

Of The Ovens River,"--And So On.  Arthur And George Were Soon Sorry

They Had Not Taken A Shot At Each Other In A Paddock.

 

The Calf Was A Very Valuable Animal--To The Learned Counsel.  On

January 30th,  1844,  Davy Became Himself An Officer Of The Government

He Had Denounced So Fiercely,  Being Appointed Pilot At Port Albert By

Sir George Gipps,  Who Graciously Allowed Him To Continue The Receipt

Of The Fee Already Charged,  Viz.,  Three Pounds For Each Vessel

Inwards And Outwards.

Story 14 (Gippsland Under The Law..) Pg 199

 

There Were Eight Other Huts On The Sandbank,  But As Not One Of The

Occupants Was Able To Pay Twenty Pounds,  Their Names Are Not Worth

Mentioning.  After Making A Formal Demand For The Money,  And Giving

The Trespassers Ten Minutes To Take Their Goods Away,  Mr. Tyers

Ordered His Men To Set The Buildings On Fire,  And In A Short Time

They Were Reduced To Ashes.  The Tood Aloof From Nature.

 

And Here Already,  Living Cheerfully And Joyfully In The Bosom Of Nature

With My First Pupils,  I Began To Tell Myself That The Training Of

Natural Life Was Closely Akin To The Training Of Human Life. For Did Not

Those Gifts Of Flowers And Plants Express Appreciation And

Acknowledgment Of The Love Of Parents And Teacher? Were They Not The

Outcome Of The Characteristic Lovingness And The Enthusiastic

Thankfulness Of Childhood? A Child That Of Its Own Accord And Of Its Own

Free Will Seeks Out Flowers,  Cares For Them,  And Protects Them,  So That

In Due Time He Can Weave A Garland Or Make A Nosegay With Them For His

Parents Or His Teacher,  Can Never Become A Bad Child,  A Wicked Man. Such

A Child Can Easily Be Led Towards Love,  Towards Thankfulness,  Towards

Recognition Of The Fatherliness Of God,  Who Gives Him These Gifts And

Permits Them To Grow That He,  As A Cheerful Giver In His Turn,  May

Gladden With Them The Hearts Of His Parents.

 

That Time Of Conflict Contained Within It An Element Of Special And

Peculiar Meaning To Myself. It Brought Before Me My Past Life In Its

Many Various Stages Of Development; And Especially The Chief Events

Which Had Formed And Influenced It,  With Their Causes And Their Effects.

And It Always Seemed To Me Of Particular Importance To Go Back Upon The

Very Earliest Occurrences In My Life. But Of The Actual Matters Of Fact

Of My Earliest Years Very Few Traces Now Remained; For My Mother,  Who

Could Have Kept Them In Her Memory For Me,  And From Whom I Could Now

Have Learnt Them,  Had Died Even Before My Life Had Really Awakened.

Amongst The Few Relics Remaining To Me Was A Written Address From My

Godmother (The So-Called Baptismal Letter),  Which She Had Sent Me

Immediately After My Baptism,  According To The Thuringian Custom Of The

Time,  As A Sort Of Portion Or Dowry For My Entrance Into Life. It Had

Come Into My Possession After The Death Of My Father. This Letter,  Of A

Simple,  Christian,  Tenderly Religious,  Womanly Soul,  Expressed In Plain

And Affecting Terms The True Relation Of The Young Christian To That To

Which By His Baptism He Had Become Bound. Through These Words The Inner

Life Of Both Mind And Soul,  Of My Boyhood And Of My Youth,  Was Brought

Before Me With All Its Peace And Blessedness; And I Could Not Help

Seeing How Much That I Then Longed For Had Since Come To Pass. My Soul,

Upon This Thought,  Regained That Original Inspiriting,  Enlightening,  And

Quickening Unity Of Which I Stood So Much In Need. But At The Same Time

All The Resolutions Of My Boyhood And Youth Also Rushed Back Upon Me,

And Made It Manifest How Much More Had Yet To Happen Before They,  Too,

Were Accomplished; And With Them They Brought The Memory Of Those Types

And Ideals With Which The Feeble Boyish Imagination Had Sought To

Strengthen Itself. But My Life Had Been Far Too Much An Inward And

Strictly Personal Life To Have Been Able,  Or Even To Have Dared To Stand

Forth In Any Outwardly Definite Form,  Or To Take Any Fixed Relation To

Story 14 (Gippsland Under The Law..) Pg 200