I shall always feel disposed to meet your and Mr. Lockhart’s wishes in doing anything I can for the Quarterly Review, notwithstanding your late abominable article on such a person as Carlyle, which every one condemns.* Australia is, and has been, a great hobby of mine, and I think there is now ample ground for a general view of the whole of that great continent and New Zealand, as well as a few words on Falkland Islands, more neglected than they ought to be. But Old Age, cold weather, and want of materials almost frighten one from undertaking it. Statistical accounts I may perhaps get from the Colonial Office and other quarters; but I should wish to have Colonel Collins’ account of the first convicts that landed at Botany Bay, a curious journal of transactions; and it will also be curious to compare the first beginnings with the present state of New Holland, a specimen of the rise and progress of kingdoms and nations. Phillip’s (Governor) account would also be acceptable. But I will inquire for them, and see what I can get.
