caused
by excess, which in the Australian colonies, as elsewhere, cannot he
indulged in with impunity. Upwards of two hundred of these gentlemen
contrive to pick up a living, and their numbers are constantly
augmented by the surgeons of emigrant ships, though the latter usually
migrate to the interior, or, being disappointed, leave the colony on
the first opportunity. . Lawyers, in proportion to the population,
literally swarm, the rolls containing fifty barristers, and a hundred
and twenty attorneys and proctors, who all find employment, from the
peculiar condition of society; litigation being much more fashionable
amongst all classes than honesty, whilst law is comparatively cheap.
As
has been before stated, the religious establishments are numerous and
well regulated. There are two bishoprics, Sydney and Newcastle, the
Bishop of Sydney being metropolitan of Australia. The bishopric of
Newcastle comprises the counties north of the Hunter river, or an
extent of about 700 miles by 500, an area larger than the whole of
Great Britain. The diocese of Sydney comprises all the remaining
territory of the colony. The number of churches, according to the last
returns, is seventy. The Bishop of Sydney receives from the colonial
treasury a salary of 2,000?. per annum; the Bishop of Newcastle 1,000/.
The
Roman Catholic Church is under the administration of an archbishop, and
an extensive establishment of subordinates. The number of churches is
fifty-eight. The Archbishop receives 500/. a year from the colonial
funds, and a Vicar-General 200/. The Roman Catholics in Sydney are a
numerous body, amounting to a third of the population. This is owing to
the circumstance of all Irish convicts having here landed in New South
Wales.
The
Presbyterian Church is under the government of the Synod of Australia,
and is divided as follows :—Presbytery of Sydney, with five churches,
occupied by ordained ministers of the Church, and a number of temporary
churches, served occasionally by members of the presbytery;—Presbytery
of Wind-
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