Part 5

In the year 1849, I received a letter from Lord Fitzroy Somerset, afterwards Lord Raglan, Military Secretary to the Commander-in Chief the Duke of York, forwarding to me a war medal and clasp. The Duke of Richmond had called the attention of the House of Lords to the fact that no medals had been granted to the army for certain distinguished battles and sieges, and moved an address to the Crown upon the subject, which was carried. A Board of General officers was appointed to consider and report upon the matter, and their recommendation was adopted.

The discoveries of gold in the Province of Victoria were so rich that a perfect exodus of all classes of the male population of South Australia, except the old and young, took place. It was a time of great anxiety, on account of the numerous helpless families which were left slenderly provided for. The Adelaide men were generally successful, and having collected large quantities of gold, began returning to their families in about six months, when the scenes occurring in Adelaide were quite marvellous. A dozen weddings almost daily taking place; the bridal parties driving in carriages about town and country, and clearing the drapers’ shops of silks and satins.

At the time of the exodus the notes of Banks were presented in large quantities for payment in specie, of which the Bank of South Australia, although wealthy, was nearly drained; but the demand was so sudden that there was no time to procure supplies from abroad. The Bank of Australasia held at that time about £90,000 in gold, and was prepared to aid the other Bank for mutual protection, when fortunately the scheme of the “Bullion Act” was brought into operation, and effected an immediate and wonderful change.

This Act was devised by Mr. G. S. Walters, a gentleman of great experience in monetary affairs. It provided that the gold dust already deposited in the Treasury, amounting to a large sum, should be smelted into ingots of various sizes, stamped with the Queen’s head, and the accurate assay, and declared to be legal tenders at the rate of £3 14s. per ounce—gold dust then selling in Melbourne at £3 7s. This immediately stopped the demand for sovereigns, caused large additional quantities of gold dust to be introduced from Melbourne, and quieted the public mind. Some of the gold was so pure that it afterwards realized over £4 per ounce in London.

There is no doubt that the Bullion Act was a direct infringement of the Royal prerogative as to coinage, and demanded anxious consideration. Sir Henry Young was then Governor, and the Bank Managers were requested on different occasions to meet him in Executive Council to consider the subject. Mr. Tinline (Bank of South Australia) and myself (Bank of Australasia) urgently supported the adoption of the Bill; the Manager of the Union Bank opposed it. The responsibility was very great, but the Executive Government submitted it to the Legislature, and the Bill was passed into an Act for two years. The Home Government approved of it, considering that it was warranted by the great emergency.

Another very useful measure was adopted about this time. A strong, well-armed body of mounted police was sent periodically to the gold diggings at Bendigo, in Victoria, to escort the gold found by South Australian diggers to Adelaide. The service was continued for a considerable time, and the gold thus introduced exceeded two millions sterling.

The successful gold diggers would, in all probability, have remained in Victoria and removed their families from hence had it not been that many of them were owners of land, which tied them to the province; and they ultimately returned with their unexpected wealth and purchased additional lands.

There can be no doubt that the land system of South Australia, which provided that the country should be surveyed and sold in sections of eighty acres, was the means of saving the province from temporary ruin. The facilities for acquiring land by the labouring classes were very considerable. The discovery of the Burra Copper Mine gave the first great impulse to the progress of the colony; the produce of that mine alone having exceeded £4,000,000 sterling up to a recent period.

It is curious to follow the career of an immigrant after that discovery. He became a labourer for one or two years, when his saving of wages enabled him to purchase a team of oxen and a dray. He then commenced carrying copper ore from the Burra Mine to Port Adelaide, taking back stores and provisions, and in one or two years more was in a position to purchase an eighty-acre section of land and become a farmer. While his crops were growing, and at other spare times, he again carried ore from the mine and was soon able to purchase more land, and became a man of some consequence in his district. This man was the type of a considerable class of yeomen, who, having property to protect became Conservatives, and exercised a material influence on the peace and prosperity of the country.

The transactions of the Burra Mine were on a great scale at that time, employing upwards of 1,100 men, who, with their families, numbered over 4,000 souls supported by that mine. At one period the shareholders divided annually 800 per cent. on their £5 shares. Their Bank account, however, absorbed a large amount of capital; at one period it was overdrawn about £72,000, as they calculated on the value of the ore as soon as it was raised to the surface at the mine, but before it could be shipped to England and bills drawn against it. The Bank Directors in London objected strongly to this, and even suggested more than once that the accounts had better be closed. I, however, feeling how very prejudicial to the interests of the Bank such a course would be, and having visited the mine and satisfied myself as to its great value, took the responsibility of continuing the account—the Burra Directors having engaged on my representation gradually to diminish the overdraft to a moderate amount. I felt quite convinced of the correctness of the views entertained by the London Board, as no single establishment should absorb so large a proportion of the capital allotted to each branch.

There were also a few mercantile accounts the advances to which the London Board objected as being too large, and they appeared to think that I was not sufficiently cautious in conducting their business, although they had sustained no losses, and their business had been quadrupled. Some irregularity had also occurred in the office, and I was offered the option of removing to some other branch or receiving compensation on resigning, but was requested to remain at the Bank for some time in order to aid my successor until he became acquainted with the customers and the nature of their transactions. I remained for some time, but no other branch becoming vacant, and being also unwilling to leave South Australia, I accepted compensation and retired.

Some time afterwards, having sold a property in Western Australia for £3,000, I agreed to join in a mercantile business with a gentleman connected with my family. On this becoming known to Mr. John Ellis, he very handsomely and spontaneously presented me with a letter of credit for £5,000 on the wealthy firm of Morrisson & Co., of London; and Mr. G. S. Walters, in a similar manner, introduced me to his father-in-law, Mr. Frederick Huth, of the great firm of Frederick Huth & Co., of London, who opened credits for the new firm with their several correspondents at Mauritius, Calcutta, Bombay, Ceylon, Singapore, and China, for £2,000 each. The business was thus commenced with a fair prospect, but not proving very successful after a trial of a few years, I retired from the firm.

In the year 1855 the second mixed Legislative Council, of nominated and elected members, assembled. I had offered myself as a candidate to represent the District of Willunga, in this Council, but after a close contest was defeated. The Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell, however, immediately offered to nominate me to a seat, at the same time stating that I was not to consider myself bound in the slightest degree to support any Government measure which I did not approve. I accepted this offer and took my seat in that Council, which elected me in the following November to the honourable position of Chairman of Committees.

At this time the citizens of Adelaide obtained their supplies of water from the River Torrens, which was subject to pollution, and the cartage was inconvenient and expensive. Complaints were numerous, and the Government introduced a Bill for constructing water-works at a cost of £280,000. This amount was so large that the Council did not believe the Government was serious, and at the second reading the Chairman of Committees read some eighty clauses _seriatim_, with scarcely a remark from any members. The Bill was finally passed, and has proved a most beneficial measure.

On the dissolution of this mixed Council (elective and nominated) on which had devolved the passing of the Constitution Act in 1857, I was elected to represent the District of Flinders, and took my seat in the Legislative Assembly, under the new responsible Government, consisting of five members,—namely, Chief Secretary, Attorney-General, Treasurer, Commissioner of Crown Lands, and Commissioner of Public Works.

I offered myself as a candidate for the office of Speaker of the House of Assembly in the year 1857, but was unsuccessful. In the following month of September I was invited to join the Ministry of Mr. (now Sir) R. R. Torrens, and became Commissioner of Crown Lands. This Ministry lasted, however, but a short time, and was succeeded by that formed by the present Sir R. D. Hanson. The “Constitution Act” was passed during this session of Parliament. Some of its clauses were objected to by me, chiefly that relating to universal suffrage, on the ground that intelligent votes could not be given by those who could neither read or write. I succeeded, however, in introducing a clause requiring a fixed residence of six months (twelve months were proposed) to qualify for voting.

In the year 1859 I was appointed as a Special Magistrate under the “Local Courts Act”—first, to preside in the Local Courts at Willunga and Morphett Vale, and afterwards at those in the Northern Districts, namely, at Redruth, Clare, Auburn, and Riverton. I continued to perform those duties for upwards of ten years, and on the amalgamation of two districts I retired, receiving the usual retiring allowance.

On this occasion I was much gratified by receiving two flattering addresses, one from the members of the bar practising in the Northern Courts, the other signed by all the Magistrates of the District and numerous other residents. This last was beautifully illuminated and engrossed on vellum.

Having served over twenty-two years in His Majesty’s army; six years farming in a new settlement (Western Australia); seventeen years as a Bank manager; three years as a merchant; four years in Parliament, during which I held office in the Ministry for a short time; and lastly, over ten years administering the laws in Local Courts—my career may be fairly considered as long and varied. Having arrived at an old age, I may now rest from my labours, trusting to the atoning merits of a merciful Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, for an eternal rest hereafter.

MARSHALL MACDERMOTT.

William Kyffin Thomas, Printer, Grenfell-street, Adelaide.

● Transcriber’s Notes: ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected. ○ Two errata were applied to the text. ▪ PAGE 5, line 28.–For “Gulf of Causo” read “Gut of Causo.” ▪ PAGE 16, line 2.–For “Montreal” read “Montreuil.”

○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book. ○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).