seldom less than five fathoms.

For want of sufficient informa

tion as to the shoals that are formed at some of the elbows by the washing down of the light soil, the vessel grounded between the last mentioned estuary and Susan Island, but was got off at high tide, on the afternoon of the 29th, and reached a station occupied by Phillips, where the frame of a vessel from 120 to 150 tons burden was on the stocks. The country in this neighbourhood becomes slightly undulated; the banks of the river at the water's edge are about fifteen feet high; but a little retired from these are swamps and alluvial plains many miles in extent, the land being all of a description similar to the rich flats on the banks of the Hawkesbury. A little above Susan Island the water is fresh ; the river, although narrower and more confined in its banks, still preserving nearly the same depth as lower down, the soundings varying from two to seven fathoms for twenty miles higher, (excepting at one or two shoals, the situations of which are well known to the cedar-cutters.) The dense brush with which the lower part is fringed now occurs only at intervals; the banks are bold, rocky, and occasionally varied by gentle slopes; the character of the country, that of open forest grazing country, of sandstone formation.

At three P.M., on the 30th May, the steamer brought up at the foot of a rapid, and was moored close under the left bank, having then made about eighty-five miles, by the course of the river, from the heads. In commemoration of an event that has not occurred in any other part of this country, viz., a very large steamer navigating so far into the interior, the mount under which she lay was named King William's Mount.

A little above this point is the confluence of the two branches, both navigable for boats a considerable distance above their junction, probably fifteen miles by their course.

The southern branch was examined by the party above twelve miles, soundings being taken the whole way, which gave from one to four fathoms; but the river was evidently much above its ordinary level, and the current very rapid. From a high point immediately above the confluence of the northern and southern branches, the general features of the great range dividing the eastern from the western waters were distinguished, the distance of the nearest remarkable mountains being apparently about twenty-five miles, the most remote about forty. To the westward (nearly due west) is an immense chasm, backed by bold and lofty mountains; one mountain, bare of timber on its eastern side, and of volcanic appearance, standing alone, about midway between the eye and the range forming the background. The first waters of the river seem to collect in this great chasm, and, forcing their way through those parts which offer the least resistance, find an outlet.

In consequence of the absence of two seamen belonging to the King William, the steamer remained stationary till the 5th of June, when she returned to Phillip's station at Susan Island; a

slight fall had taken place in the river; but at Phillip's the water was still fresh, which is not the case during the dry months; so that the difference of level between this point and the coast must be very inconsiderable.

On Saturday the 8th June, the steamer descended by the southern arm of the river, and attempted to navigate a stream falling into it from the south; but its progress was arrested by some sunken rocks at the mouth, where she remained until high tide on Monday the 10th June; she then pursued her course until again brought up upon a rock at the junction, a little below the estuary, and nearly opposite Rocket Point, where the steamer had anchored on the night of the 27th May, as mentioned above. During this detention some of the party ascended a high point, commanding a view over the immense alluvial plains between it and the ocean.

The steamer was got afloat at high tide, and, by cutting away some overhanging branches, a channel was found for her close to the bank of the island; she then proceeded towards the position she had taken up on the day of her entrance into Shoal Bay, and on her way took in the two men who had wandered from the party in the reconnoissance of the upper part of the river. These men, appears, had forgotten that they were in the southern hemisphere, and, by travelling east, when they fancied they were going west, had reached the coast under Peaked Hill. They represented that during their journey they had fallen in with some tribes of native blacks, by whom they were supplied with food, and otherwise kindly treated.

As a field for the employment of capital in agricultural and commercial pursuits, the opening of a tract of fine country so situated, with respect to the stations to the westward, is contemplated with satisfaction by those who may be considered competent judges. In the lower part of the district alone there is room for a large body of industrious emigrants; and such is the nature of the soil, that little apprehension is entertained of its affording abundant compensation for the labour that may be bestowed on the cultivation of wheat, maize, the vine, tobacco, sugar, indigo, and many other articles of consumption, and even of export. The height of the neighbouring mountains, so near the coast, ensure to this quarter some protection from the hot winds that prevail to a great extent in more exposed parts, and to their proximity to the coast may be attributed the frequency of showers in times when other districts are parched with drought. The connexion with Moreton Bay, where the survey is steadily progressing, is already established, by the discovery of a practicable route between the coast-range and the sea; and with respect to the operations that are necessary as a preparatory arrangement to render the country at the back of Shoal Bay available for settlers of every class, contracts have been entered into for the survey of both banks of the river. The survey of the north bank of the M'Leay river is also in progress; so that the whole coun

try extending on the north from Moreton Bay to the coast-range, on the west from Cunningham's Gap to the crest of the Liverpool range, on the south from the sources of the Peel to the coast in latitude 32o, and on the east to latitude 28o 5′ (Moreton Bay), comprising an area of about 40,000 square miles, may be said to be in a state of preparation, as regards the survey, for immediate location.

With the view of rendering the Clarence available as a port for the shipment of wool, as well as of ascertaining whether the resources of the country were sufficient to hold out inducements to form fresh stations, several land expeditions have been undertaken, and the result is, that a practicable track for driving stock across the country has been discovered; but whether in the most suitable direction can only be determined on the completion of the survey of the whole country between the sources of the river and the heads of the M'Leay. According to all information that has reached head-quarters, the Clarence takes its rise in the mountain called " Ben Lomond," the principal branch running in a north-easterly direction till it unites with another branch falling from the northward, and is again met by a river which rises on the Peaked Hill, near the coast. On the banks of these streams several settlers have already established themselves; and a considerable quantity of stock is now ranging over the country eastward of the coast-range, that had heretofore been looked upon as an impassable barrier.

At this moment about 200 persons of various classes, viz., graziers, mechanics, farm-servants, and mariners, occupy the country between the mountain and the sea, the access to which formerly presented difficulties too serious to contemplate, unless counterbalanced by advantages that would compensate the risk of enterprise. At the head of the navigation a post-office has been established; a store, also, for the supply of the settlers, has been established here by a mercantile house in Sydney. Several vessels are employed in the transport of articles of consumption, and the utmost activity prevails on the banks of the river, in appropriating the advantages placed by nature at the disposal of civilized man. Owing to various disasters and apprehensions, the survey by contract proceeds less rapidly than was expected. Three parishes are laid out and described in sections, ready for sale, and some spots have been pointed out as sites for the formation of towns and villages; but the principal point of concentration has not yet been determined. It therefore appears desirable that some further advance should be made on the part of the settlers, before any of the land be brought into the market for public sale. It may be observed, that the circumstance of a vessel, built in Sydney by one of the earliest occupiers of a station on the Clarence, and who was constantly in the receipt of information with respect to the nature of the entrance, and the soundings up the river, being despatched with passengers and merchandise, all destined for the upper part of the river, is an

evidence of the general opinion of the value of the accession to the parts already under location.

S. A. PERRY.

Having intimated to Captain Perry my intention to publish a work of some kind or other on the Northern Division of the Colony on my arrival in England, to make known its extraordinary capabilities in the mother-country, with a view, if possible, to direct a copious stream of Protestant emigration to the more eligible portions of its ample territory, that able and zealous officer, with the warm interest he has uniformly taken in promoting the real welfare and advancement of the colony, did me the favour to give me the following additional Memoranda, the result of a subsequent visit to the Clarence in the year 1842, as also a series of Sketches of the scenery on the banks of the river, which he had taken on his first visit, from the deck of the steamboat; with full permission to make use of both in any way I might think the most likely to promote the best interests of that important section of the colony. The Sketches, although taken in a hurried manner and without the slightest view to publication, as the vessel swept rapidly along the successive headlands and reaches of the noble river, will, I am sure, prove a most acceptable addition to this volume, in the estimation of every intelligent reader, and will not only do honour to the pencil of Captain Perry, but enable the reader to form a pretty accurate idea of the natural scenery on the banks of all the other navigable rivers of Cooksland; as they all bear a striking resemblance to each other in their aboriginal state, before their wild solitudes have been invaded by civilized man.

ADDITIONAL MEMORANDA ON THE CLARENCE RIVER, BY

CAPTAIN PERRY.

In the middle of the year 1842, business took me to the Clarence River, which, however, I had visited three years previously. The navigation of the river for all vessels that can cross the bar, which is rather formidable in appearance, extends as high as about sixty miles from the Heads, that is, according to the course