PDF (Whole thesis) - UTas ePrints - University of Tasmania

15
passios calm. Its narrow sphere agnifies their temporary
importance. Every man might claim on forfeit benefits the
government could bestow, and thus multitudes had personal
grievances , or unsatisfied expectations . The hostilities of
the day were almost invariab ly associated with some sense of
individual wrong. A grant of land desired by one wa given to
another, a valuable s·ervant was denied on some public pretence
and then assigned .to a favoured app licant . One found his
mercantile tenders always rej ected while another by some
unintell_igible process , e.ngrossed the custom of the crown .
A youthful stranger was invested with the honors of a justice,
when colonists 'of long standing were left undistinguished.
The infractions of ru le invoived one master in public disgrace,
another was licensed transgressor. Such was the comp laint ,
which might be easily ifiustrated by examples , but they are
such as a knowledge of mankind wi ll amp ly explain, and are
inevitable when 'the form of government is arbitrary and where
its functions enter into ail the details of private life. 12
In spite of social friction and the petty annoyances incurred by
settlers in their dealngs with prisoner servants, Hobart Town in 1833 was
a "most del_ightful" and "_agreeable" place in which to 1i ve, provided an
income of two hundred pounds or more was available. 13
There was a
superabundance of food, meat, fish, poultry, egetables , fruits of the
best quality beng always available.
commented upon the supply of foodstuffs:
On May 10, 1833, the Courier
A superabundant supply of farm produce of every description was
again visible this day . Potatoes appeared in vast quantities and
'of excellent quality at prices ranging from 6/- to 12/- ; cabbage
3d. per head; turnips , carrots id. ·per bunch , onions 2d. per ·lb ;
poultry same as last week, no demand - fruit in abundance , apples
lOd. per dozen of a quality equal to the production of any country
under the sun; maize 2/9 to 3/- ; barley 2/6; oats , none , hay and
straw same as last week .
However, the Governor considered that the cost of foodstuffs was high in
1833 - meat sellng from 7d . to 9d. a lb . and wheat from 14/- to 16/- a
bushel L.14 In 1836 Sym reported that food prices had fallen somewhat ,
excellent meat now bei.ng obtainab le from 3d. to 4d. a lb.
In 1835, when
he visited Sydney for a short period, ugh made an interesting comment on
othe goods avai lable in Hobart Town shops:
I learned that the Sydney market, like the Hobart Town , is glutted
with merchandise of every description and that many of the. articles
are to be purchased at a price considerably below the original cost
in London . lS
·
12
13
14
lS
Ibid . , p • 176 •
Syme, p. 12.
GO 33/17 p. 399.
ugh , quoted Mai l.