Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: facility, and could write intelligent letters. After John Williams had concluded, I gave the company some information respecting the forlorn state of the Aborigines of Australia, and the injury done them under the influence of misapprehension and prejudice. Dr. Philip made a few pertinent comments on what had been expressed, showing that the erroneous ideas of defective capacity in the Australians and Tasmanians, and the alleged difficulties in regard to their instruction and civilization, were only such as long existed in respect to the Hottentots; that these had been demonstrated to be utterly fallacious, and the result of ignorance of the constitution of the human mind: he also expressed a conviction, that as more correct information was now diffused, a better spirit would be stirred up toward these oppressed people, and that ere long, they would become the subjects of more extended Christian labours, so that in them also, the power of divine grace would be shown. 3rd. We dined with William Henry Harvey, the Colonial Treasurer, and walked with him through the Kloof, between Table Mountain and the Lion Hill. The scenery is very grand. The tops of the rugged mountains to the north and east were covered with snow; but notwithstanding that it was the depth of winter, many beautiful plants and shrubs were in flower.—Not finding a public lodging-house convenient, we concluded to remove to a more private situation, and engaged a good sitting-room and two bed-rooms in a large house, built in Dutch style; we dined with the family, and took our other meals in our own apartment. For this we paid four and sixpence a day each. 4th. We breakfasted with several of the Missionaries from on board the Camden, among whom a conversation arose on the subject of war. One young man pleaded in i...