20 Anthony Trollope
among the castaways of Fortune, who condemns to assured ruin
those who know not cither how to resist her, or obey; between thi
Say, and the taking of your appointed part in the heroism of R
resolving to share in the victory which is to the weak rather t
strong; and the binding yourselves by that law, which, though
through lingering night and labouring day, makes a man’s life to be as
4 tree planted by the water-side, that bringeth forth his f
ET FOLIUM EJUS NON DI
ET OMNIA, QUIECUNQUE FACIET, PROSPERABUNTUR*
See also: Chamberlain; Beames; Blyden; Seeley; Tennyson; Trollope.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE
(1815-1882)
As comparison with Froude's writing (4-v) will show, Trollope's think
ing om race was ofa piece with imperial ideology of his tine. His bce
ion concerning the inevitable extinction of the Aberigines ft
sith socal evolutionist ideas based om the concept of ladder of being on
hick some progresed and others were doomed to drop away. Trollope’
fierce antipathy 1 philanthropic ventures also deepened his race pes
simism. Eleawhere in his book Australia, in which this chapler apped
‘and in South AfFica (1878), he emphasizes that the black man cannot be
stvilzed except by learning how 10 work. Complicating this racial work
‘thie, homever, his concession that the Aborigines were in possesion of
ia before the white man cane.
rough, with the intention
rishane;*—and I did so.
of returning thence overland by Gympi
Thad touched at Maryborough on my way northwards, and as I saw a
luster of Australian black men at Maryborough than
‘elsewhere, and as the question of the treatment of the black men is at
Anthony Trollope a1
from or may be given to them by their neighbox
As the steamers run up the river they swim off,
HY 2} Clowial
& A998
{: Aw Auttalo
dignity of deportment which is natu
have seen it. To my eyes the deportment of the dignified
ofa sapient monkey imitating the gait and manners
te dandy.
the race by the name officially given w it
styles them ‘aboriginals’. We saw ‘Aboriginal
Boney’ on the police-sheet, when he was standing his trial in respect
of the bit of tobacco which he had not succeeded in stealing. ‘This is
prt Woha,
“ASABE. Oxford Caz. OU
western coast
in 1688, and again in 1699. He tried to make friends with
tacked his men
party, and at
mentions with great regret
make them work, but ey stood like statues,
without motion, but 0 many monkeys... . so we
forced to carry our water ourselves.” This we ean imagine very
remembering that these Australians had never been called upon for
an hour's work in their lives. Dampier tried to clothe s
bur they preferred being naked. But the chiefs were pa
us of one young warrior who was daubed with white pai
cei, Cd. Evy
Utoaturt A570
aus: Clete 622 Anthony Trollope
beauty or for ornament, one would think, but, as some wi
jd to do, he seemed thereby to design
(his, his painting, added very mu
for they all of them have the most u
1770, Cook encountered them at
and he endeavoured to make
“We thought it remarkable that of all
me had the least appearance of ch
people we had yet seen,
the old woman herself beit
‘Adam and Eve went equal
shame. Cook, however, certainly endeavoured to tr
n
ive in societies, but like other animals, were scattered about along the
coasts, and in the woods. Of their manner of life, however, we could
de, as we were never able to form the least connection
‘come near enough to parley; nor did they touch a single
that we had left at their huts and places they frequented, on purpose
for them to take away.*
‘When Governor Phil
first governor —arrived on Cook's
better with the blacks. He found
asa matter ofcourse, —but they took the presents
fh him and
courteous. When the white men came to ctl in numbers round the
grand inlet ofthe sea, which is now Sydney Harbour, the kangaroo
ran away, and the fish became scarce inthe waters, and the black men
lost their usual food. hey began to perish from starvation, and of
‘no man owned individual proper
their confines
Gaptain Hunter, who was with Gove
afterwards himself governor, took great pains with th
Anthony Trollope 3
starved, their accustomed food having been driven away, and others
and colonization,—‘that on the 21st of August a large party of them
Janded near the Observatory, attacked
employed there, and killed a goat and carri
re people who were
A in triumph. This
was the boldest attempt yet made and caused the governor himself to
in pursuit. The live siock were so few in number that even the loss
of a single goat was looked upon as a public misfortune. ‘The
governor, however, neither succeeded in recovering the carcass of
the goat, nor in overtaking the sable cattle stealers. In the following
month the natives made another attempt on the stock. On this
weep and goats were prepared
the part of the
0 innocent, —
should stamp out and mi
abandon his purpose of peopling A\
thropical advocates for
themselves the enemies of the
is taken for petty
sure that no unfairness either on one side or other can
lead to good results. ‘The Australian grazier can
defend his cattle. The pi
distriets, I believe in all districts, would have absolutely destroyed
the flocks and made grazing in Australia impossible, had not the
squatter defended himself either with a red hand,—or with a hand
prepared to be red if occasion required. The stealing of cat
tribes of black men,—or rather the slaughter
‘man never has an idea of taking away the cattle and making them his4 Anthony Trollope
own, and desires to
but, nevertheless,
bbe done with a tribe of Australian
the Jedburgh kind,* or there
ble slaughter;—bu
yw has interfered whe 1ce has been attainable, and
‘men have been hung for their barbarity. There seems to be an
prevalent with many that the black man is not defended by the
law. This is an erroneous idea. The black man has been treated with
all possible tenderness by the law;—but his life is such that the law
‘can hardly reach him either to defend or to punish.
as scarcely atthe of the number of aborigines whose
ding the words of
they stood in lonely situations, frequently attemy
ives. ... The governor also signified his determ
any of the natives were taken in the act of robbing the settlers, to hang
them in chains near the spot as an example to others. Could it have
riate no more than he can eat at the time,
Anthony Trollope 25
driving away their kangaroos, taki
them, and hanging them in ch
was only natural and right. The white man, of course,
introducing civilisation; but the black man did not want civil
He wanted fish, kangaroos, and liberty. And yet is there any one bold
‘enough to go back to the first truth and say that the white man should
not have taken the land because it belonged to the black man;—or
that if since the beginning of things, similar justice had prevailed
throughout the world, the world would now have been nearer the
truth and honesty in its ways than it is?
‘These people were in total ignorance of the use of metals, they
went naked, they ill-used their women, they had no houses, they
produced nothing from the soil. They had not even flint arrow-heads.
‘They practised infanticide. In some circumstances of life they
practised cannibalism. They were and are savages of the lowest kind.
to these two propensities, th
cach other and obeying the laws, Mr Bennet gives the
tree bears fruit is very restricted, and it bears in profusion only once
in about three years. When this occurs the supply is vastly larger than
can be consumed by the tribes within whose territory the trees are
found, Consequently, large numbers of strangers visit the district
some of them coming from very great distances, and all are welcome
tw consume as much as they desire; for there is enough and to spare
‘during the few months while the season lasts. The fruit is ofa richly
farinaceous kind, and the blacks quickly fatten upon it, But alter a
short indulgence on an exclusive vegetable diet, having previouslyAnthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope a
entirely upon animal food, they
dare not
mngaroos,
‘possums, and bandicoot are alike sacred from their touch, because
‘necessary for the existence of the friendly tribe
‘vhose hospitality they are partaking, In this condition some of the
ranger tribes resort to the horrible practice of cannibalism, and
‘curifice one of their own number to provide the longed-for feast of
humanity, o the
information, —who think that the
: except under
ith the fate of the poor creatures of inferior races with
‘whom he comes in contact on the distant shores to which his search
for wealth may lead him. ‘The settler, a a matter of course, i in quest
of fortune, and is one who,
become rough and less se
When this philanthropy first becam
England, we were ourselves the own
1 great and glorious task of abol
other nations might afterwar
its expression in
in our own colonies,
tat horror for ourselves,
had to be
of the necessities oftheir existence, and the in
the severe pressure on the supply of food which, under ordinary
‘Gircumstances, must have prevailed among the aboriginal tribes. The
Strangers dared not, in their utmost longing, touch the wild
because they were absolutely necessary for the exist
to which the district belonged. ‘They might eat thei
bbunya-bunya, because that was in profusion, and preser
given them the right to it. Such a singular condition of ¢
protected. Some years since I ventured to express my opinion on that
franer* OF all te sbecrdtos in politcal cconemy which T ever
‘encountered, that of protecting the labour of the negroes in Jamaica
ry eyes the most gross. And it appeared 10
parliament, statesmen, or even merchants, was
by the very nature of the man. ‘That a rac
in Queensland;
general among the Australian blacks.*
“Their laws, especially with regard to marriage, are complex and
wonderful. ‘Their corroborees, or festival dances, are very wonderful
“Their sagacity, especial
‘wonderful, The skill with which they
which they possess is very wonderful. But for years, probabl
inany centuries, they have made no progress, and the coming of the
i ‘them has had no tendency to civilise,—only a
them.
{question Lam now endeavouring to discuss is that ofthe white
‘duty in respect to these blacks,—and also the further question,
‘ther the white Englishman in Australia has done his duty. There
Fea strong sect of men in England,—a sect with whom I fully
Sympathize in their aspirations, though I have sometimes found
‘on equal terms with the white man, and that any land, state oF
ict in which the negro is empowered for awhile to have ascend
‘ency over the white man by number of suflrages or other causes, will
Ihave but a woeful destiny till such a condition of things be made to
-. White men will quit such land in disgust,—or the white28
‘Australian aboriginal. The idea prevails that he also may be a member
“That he is infinitely lower in
be no doubt, Civilisation among the African tibes is mot very high,
‘and our knowledge as to the point which it has reached is st
fective. But where he has come within the compass of the white
man’s power, he has been taught to work for his bread, —which ofall
teaching is the most important. The Australian black man has not
‘been so taught, and, in spite ofa few instances to the contrary, [think
Tam justified in saying that he cannot be so taught, Individual
instances are adduced,—instances which are doubtless true,—of
‘continued service having been rendered by aboriginals; but they are
se few,_-so contrary to the life of the tribes as any traveller may see
town, or more frequ«
distance by his gin,
which wealthy idleness i
toil. His sinews are neve
‘cunning good:
his native savagery, and would be more dangerous we
in this begging, sk
y of deportment.
‘Our friends at home with the phil
Australian colonist repeatedly
nothing but his vices,—and they mean the charge to cont
bitterest reproach, A man going out among other men gets taught
learn. ‘The aboriginals have become drunkards af
and
thieves; and it is said of them, that they sel
‘men, That there are white drunkards and white thieves in Australias
Anthony Trollope
and de
‘is countenance the fact that he has resolved to beg,
ypossum,—and at any rate to be free from toil. This
Ihas to me been the most odious part of his altogether
siognomy. When he has mixed much among white men, and
“d that he is quite safe in numerous communities from the
ine
tumoured impudenee which is more revolting than
Anthony Trollope 29
certainly true; and no doubt there is immorality in regard to
‘women,—though in new colonies and inhabited countries
such vice is always less prominent than in the large town
|, aman and a brother, or what not
gifts than the African negro there can
wives. Women are kindly, unexa
black men learned also some of
has been made to teach them
one who will reflect of how great value would have been their thews
and sinews if only they could have been induced to work
can you teach any good lesson to a man who will only hold his head
erect ashe grins and asks you for sixpence, ora glass of grog, or a bit
of tobacco, ora pair of old trousers? Ifhe gets the sixpence, no doubt
he will drink it;—with some
sirtuous publican obeys the law. But all publicans are not virtuous,
and so fri may be said with truth that we tech the black man our
vices. So far asthe aw can protect the black man from the learning of
tice it has striven to do s0;-—but no law in any country was ever
efficacious to such purpose.
Its difficult to make intelligible to those who know nothing of
‘of these people,—the mixture of
nd good-humour, which pre-
is heart despise the
fe upon him and his tribe if he employed
ata distance, he exchanges his ferocity for confiding in his black gamekeeper a5 he
to carry. When he
hat he
ing life,
fopic mantle
it he has taught the black
an aboriginal might be
_ swallow al the wine.
Children of mixed breed, —of white fathers and black mothers are
‘women to white
icine |Anthony Trollope
‘become a race as they have done in the western
nd heard of instances in which girls so born have
world. I have
teen brought up as domestic servants. But it seems that they always.
return to the bush and become some black man’s gin,—or strive to do
0.1 heard of one girl who hacl been trained to take eare of children till
een. She had never known savage life, and had become
ate, But at fourteen she vanished into the bush. In
.w a girl about fourteen waiting at table, and was
Thad made repeated attempts at escape. I ventured to ask
the lady by what right she was retained, and how caught when she
as to retention, and told me
she was fou
slavery,—for th
‘cognised by any legal transfer of service. She had been picked up, and
used kindly,—and was now the possession of the
‘escape and become a gin
‘one of the colonies and a
‘black man has not yet learned to be a fine gentleman
deportment, barely taking the trouble to open his mouth as he asks
for sixpence and tobacco.
does hardly reach him in those
known only to his tribe, who do not recognise our law, and
interference. He cannot be traced. ‘The very hue of his face
lence as to his identity. He cannot be found, and he is
sant squatter, whom he attacks or whose beasts
1 he must be redhanded himself, or that the black
ask for
prevents €
never missed. The
he kills, knows
Anthony Trologe
man wll zo unpunished: an
ia be punish ie or him ont
int for pty pilerings thr he
means of living.
ng. ‘The black men
mined 1 be his enemies, and
Is himself bouns
‘but scruples won't —
resolves itself 0 this—had
men who were its the country from the bla
its owners, and have the he black
sill go westward and northwoed een PoeeesiNg colonists who
ward in search
ive the black men back, secing safe creat lana the right 1
together? IF they have mo such ght olive
wrong to do ee
that they cannot live
hen as the whole colons, emery
colonizing system of Great
ir nations su
the Portuguese, the
hands, pe Deh
ie
: ao aoe 80 should we have
‘ ined;—or wi jak F32 John Beames
tribes, who knew nothing of them, ar
as enemies. Which party was to blame for this bloodshed,—the
Messrs. Jardine who were risking their own lives to save the
inhabitants of a distant settlement, —or the poor blacks who were
against unknown and encroaching enemies? In this case
no thoughtless arrogance, no white
would have been glad enough to have made their progress without
fighting battles, and fought when they did fight simply in sel
protection, And yet the blacks were invaded—most unjustly and
cruelly as they must have felt,
(OF the Australian black man we may certainly say that he has to
{go That he should perish without unnecessary suffering should be
the aim of all who are concerned in the matter. But no good can be
done by giving to the aboriginal a character which he does not
deserve, or by speaking of the treatment which he receives in
language which the facts do not warrant.
‘See also: Clarke; Kingsley; McKay, ‘Cudjoe Fresh From de Lecture’
Woolf.
JOHN BEAMES
(1837-1902)
Jokn Beames's Memoirs of his thirty-five-year carcer in the Indian Ci
‘Service gives a clear impression of the daily office routine—"the day
workin Kipling'sphrase—on which the empire resied, not only in India,
‘but also in the many other more recently established native colonies where
‘administration was generally modelled on the Indian system. Work, as
Beames points out, is rule; and rule is processing petitions, making
grammars, working efficiently and on time. As Leonard Woolf (4.v:)
‘would find out more than thirty years later in Ceylon, through ‘utmost
punctuality and strictness’ a young Englishman fresh from Oxbridge could
rapidly gain promotion tothe pesition of minor despot ofan entire district.
John Beames 33
officers in India is its variety. One has no fear of getting wearied by
‘monotonous routine, or by perpetually hammering away at one
unchanging task. In the course of one day's work one has a dozen or
‘more different things to do, cach presenting some new feature of
fatigue of keeping mind and body on the stretch’
‘ever-varying calls on one’s attention, and the joy (than wl
no greater—and which I sigh for now in my unemployed old age) of
that one is working and ruling and making oneself useful
God’s world. A brief outline of an ordinary day’s work may be given
once for al. We got up at five or thereabouts, drank a cup of tea while
cour horses were being brought, and went for a ride. IFT had official
work to do, I went alone, but mostly my wife and I went together. On
ends and rode with them, oF stopped to ik and
8, discussed any mat
‘was settled in my study for two hours’ work at my big book,
‘my Comparative Grammar* At wen, bath and breakfast and off to
ccutcherry* in my brougham, a drive of three miles, during which
1 read oficial leters or thought over the day’s business. On reach-
ing office about eleven, the first thing was to take the Faujdari or
Magistrate’s work. ‘The public crowded into my large court-room
and presented many petitions, each of which was read to me by a
clerk and orders passed thereon. Most of them were plaints in
criminal cases, which were made over to the various subordinate
“Magistrates for disposal. Then came the great police charge-book,
‘which were entered all the criminal cases sent up that day from the