2-023 (Text)

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Without entering upon the consideration of its prospective advantages or future Importance, I beg leave to state briefly That the Climate is equally healthy as that of the Cape and New South Wales; that it permits Europeans to labor throughout the day and in every Season of the Year; That, according to the Testimony of an experienced Person who accompanied me, the Soil is admirably calculated for every Species of Cultivation;
That the Territory is abundantly supplied with fresh Water; And finally that, in the Neighbourhood of Swan River, there is Safe Anchorage, which may easily be converted into one of the finest Harbours in the World.
The above mentioned recommendations point it out as a spot so eligible for Settlement, that it cannot long remain unoccupied. It is not inferior in any natural essential qualify to the Plain of Lombardy, and, as by its position it commands facilities for carrying on Trade with India and the Malay Archipelago, as well as with China, and as it is moreover favourably circumstanced for the Equipment of Cruizers for the annoyance of Trade in those Seas, Some foreign Power may see the Advantage of taking possession, should his Majesty's Government leave it unappropriated.