Colonization, particularly in Southern Australia. With Some Remarks on Small Farms and Over-population

London, T. & W. Boone, 1835. Octavo, xxxii, 268, [4] (publisher's advertisements) pages. Original green watered cloth lettered and decorated in gilt on the spine; cloth a little scuffed and marked, with minor wear to the extremities; spine a little sunned, with an old repair in green cloth to the foot of the rear joint and the spine proper; top edge a little darkened, leading edge a little foxed; endpapers slightly marked, offset and foxed, with occasional light foxing elsewhere; inner hinges cracked but firm (the text block appears to have been loose at some stage, and it has been reinserted inexpertly, resulting in the leading edges of the first half of the book, in two discrete groups of gatherings, being proud of the remainder); notwithstanding, a very decent copy. The front free endpaper is inscribed in ink 'To The Honble Mrs Byng from her old and very sincere friend The Author. Portsmouth 19 June 1835'. A Byng family armorial bookplate ('Tuebor', I Will Defend) is mounted on the pastedown (offsetting a little onto the inscription). In 'August 1834 a committee of emigrants had approached Sir Charles Napier [1782-1853], one of the famous Peninsular War brothers [inviting him to apply for the post of Governor of the new colony of South Australia]; the Colonial Office had been considering Sir John Franklin, but withdrew in favour of Napier' (Dutton: 'Founder of a City'). Napier subsequently withdrew his nomination on 20 May 1835 'when his request for power to draw on the government for funds and for an adequate defence force was refused' (Pike: 'Paradise of Dissent'). In the preface to this book, dated 1 May 1835, Napier observes 'a former Colonial Secretary having selected me as a fit subject for transportation, it is probable that the sentence may, at some future period, be carried into execution. In the interim, my time could not be better employed than in discussing the subject of our expedition, and the more I consider it, the more I think it likely to answer your expectations; but the dearth of information relative to the shores of Spencer's Gulf is lamentable. I have, in the following pages, collected all the objections I can discover, and thus done what is in my power to prepare for meeting the obstacles which we may have to encounter'. It is immediately followed by a 22-page notice, dated not later than 29 May; it commences 'This book was ready for publication when, on the 20th of this month I had an interview with Lord Glenelg .' and it goes on to explain at great length why he took his course of action. Ferguson 1991.…