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Nid rhaid i ni sylwi mai mynyddwyr Cymru a fyddent sicraf o gasglu cyfoeth yn Awstralia o holl bobl y byd. |
We need not remark that, of all the world’s people, the miners of Wales are the surest of acquiring wealth in Australia. |
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Dywed Mr. Saunders, yr hwn a fu dair blynedd ar ddeg yn y drefedigaeth, fod yno, yn awr, alwad am ddeugain neu hanner can’ mil o weithwyr yn ychwaneg. |
Mr. Saunders, who was thirteen years in the colony, says that there is now call for forty or fifty thousand additional workers there. |
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Y mae Awstralia hefyd yn agor drws o obaith i fasnachwyr trallodus Cymru;—dosbarth teilwng o ddynion yn meddu gradd helaeth o wybodaeth gyffredin—dynion o ddiwydrwydd dïorphwys ac ysbryd anturiaethus, ond heb hanner digon o arian i’w suddo yn eu masnach—dynion anghenus, yn gorfod gwneyd ymddangosiad o gyfoethogrwydd rhag colli eu parchusrwydd eu hunain, ymddiried eu hachredwyr, a chefnogaeth y wlad. Hyd yn ddiweddar iawn, yr oedd yn y trefedigaethau ddigon o siopau, ystordai, a masnachdai o bob math i gyfarfod anghen y boblogaeth, ond yn awr y mae y cloddfeydd wedi hudo lluoedd o fasnachwyr o’r trefydd, a chasglu miloedd o anturiaethwyr i’w cymydogaethau. Y mae cadw ystorfäau a siopau yn y cloddfeydd agos gystadl â chloddio, ac yn llawer esmwythach a sicrach anturiaeth. Rhaid fod siopwyr Bathurst, er anghraifft, yn medi elw mawr iawn. Nis gall cloddwyr aur, mwy na dynion eraill, fyw heb fwyd a dïod, a chant o bethau yn ychwaneg. Ond y mae yn ddiddadl mai tafarnwyr sydd yn ei gwneyd hi oreu yma. |
It is to be hoped that Australia will open its doors to the troubled merchants of Wales;—a worthy class of men possessing an ample degree of general knowledge—men of tireless industry and enterprising spirit, but lacking half enough money to sink into their business—needy men, forced to give the appearance of wealth lest they lose their own respectability, the trust of their creditors, and the support of the country. Until very recently, there were enough shops, warehouses, and businesses of every kind to meet the needs of the populace, but now the goldfields have lured hordes of traders from the towns, and gathered thousands of adventurers into their environs. Keeping stores and shops in the goldfields is nearly as good as digging, and a much easier and surer enterprise. The shopkeepers of Bathurst, for example, reap very great profits. Gold diggers cannot, any more than other men, live without food and drink, and a hundred other things besides. But it is indisputable that publicans do best here. |
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Ond y mae Awstralia yn agor rhagolygfeydd euraidd i’r boneddig yn gystal a’r gwreng. I gynnifer o feibion uchelwyr helbulus, a cheinciau gordyfol a diffrwyth o’n hen deuluoedd pendefigaidd ag a wyddant rywbeth am drin tir a magu anifeiliaid, byddai bugeilio yn y “berth”1 yn orchwyl llawer mwy buddiol na hela llwynogod gartref ar hyd tiroedd yn morio o ddyled, yn cael eu gwarchae gan echwynwyr rheibus, a’u gadael gan denantiaid gwerthedig. Ond dylent, chwedl Earp, fod yn ofalus i adael eu pendefigeiddrwydd gartref. Yn Nghymru, y mae genym barch greddfol i deitlau a gwaedoliaeth, ond yn mysg ein gwrthdroedwyr nid oes dim swyn yn y pethau hyn, ac yn nghymdeithas dynion wedi tyfu o ddim i gyfoethogrwydd ymherodrol—wedi dringo, ond odid, allan o ddaeardai collfarnedig i uchelderau Woollomolloo2—nid oes dim yn fwy troseddol na son am waedoliadaeth a gwrhydri hynafiaid. Yn eu meddylddrych godidog hwy, y mae dyn felly yr un ffunud a phytaten neu ddiafol—fel y flaenaf, y mae yr holl rinwedd perthynol iddo dan bridd, meddant; neu, fel yr olaf, y mae heb ddim i ymfalchïo ynddo, ond ei fod wedi disgyn o radd uchel. Ond y neb a all ddywedyd, “Nid oeddwn yn werth swllt pan osodais fy nhroed gyntaf ar dir yma, ond heddyw, yr wyf yn meddu can’ mil o bunnau,” a addolir â banllefau o glodforedd diddiwedd. |
But Australia opens golden prospects to the gentleman as well as to the commoner. For those sons of distressed peers, and of overgrown and fruitless branches of our old noble families, who know something about cultivating land and rearing animals, sheep farming in the “bush”1 would be a much more profitable activity than hunting foxes at home across lands drowning in debt, being besieged by rapacious creditors, and being abandoned by sold-up tenants. But they should, according to Earp, be careful to leave their nobility at home. In Wales, we have an instinctive respect for titles and breeding, but among our antipodes there is no charm in these things, and in a society of men grown from nothing to regal wealth—having climbed, probably, out of a convict dungeon to the heights of Woolloomooloo2—there is no greater offence than to talk of the pedigree and exploits of one’s ancestors. In their excellent way of thinking, such a man is just like the potato or the devil—like the former, all his virtue is buried in the earth, they say; or, like the latter, he has nothing of which to be proud, save that he has descended from high rank. But any one who can say, “I was not worth a shilling when I first set foot on land here, but today, I have a hundred thousand pounds,” is applauded with endless cheers of praise. |
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Gair ar olygfeydd y proffesiadau dysgedig. Am yr alwedigaeth feddygol, y sylw cyffredin yw bod iachusrwydd hinsawdd Awstralia yn elyniaethol i’w llwyddiant; eto, y mae y ddealltwriaeth (faculty) yn dyfod o hyd i ddigon o “oddefwyr” ymhlith dynion o arferiadau anghymedrol, pa rai, ysywaeth, a ffurfiant ran fawr o bob cymundeb, yn enwedig mewn lleoedd fel Sydney, lle y mae gwinoedd a dïodydd o bob math mor rad. I ddynion ieuainc gwylltion ac ofer y mae yn waeth lle na chartref, oddigerth eu bod wedi penderfynu cyn cychwyn dïanc i’r “berth” oddiar ffordd eu hudoliaethau. Gocheled y sefydlwr newydd gyfeddach a difyrwch y trefydd a’r myrdd o demtasiynau i’w ddinystrio ei hun er mwyn “gweled bywyd.” Y “berth” yw y lle mwyaf manteisiol ar y ddaear i ymarfer â’r rhinwedd o hunan-ymwadiad, a Sydney yw y lle tebycaf yn y byd i “beth ieuanc gwirion” gael ei rwydo gan rai o’r “hen fechgyn effro,” a’r “boneddigion troed-ddu” a anfonwyd yma gynt i dderbyn lles yr awyr boenol. |
A word on the prospects of the learned professions. Of the medical vocation, the general observation is that the salubrity of the Australian climate is inimical to its success; still, the faculty finds enough “patients” among men of immoderate habits, who, alas, form a great part of every community, especially in places like Sydney, where wines and spirits of all kinds are so cheap. For wild and idle young men it is a worse place than home, unless they have decided before starting to escape from the ways of temptation to the “bush”. Let the new settler beware the carousing and entertainment of the towns and the myriad temptations to undo himself for the sake of “seeing life.” The “bush” is the most advantageous place on earth to practise the virtue of self-denial, and Sydney is the most likely place in the world for a “silly young thing” to be ensnared by the wily “old hands”, and the “black sheep” who were formerly sent here to receive the benefit of the penal air. |
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Y mae yma tua dau cant o feddygon mewn “ymarferiad” da, ond nid yw yn lle mor obeithiol i wŷr ieuainc medrus o Gymru, gan fod cynnifer yn myned allan yno yn barhaus fel llong-feddygon a chynnorthwywyr, a’r rhai hyny yn methu cael galwad yn y porthladdoedd, ac yn gorfod naill ai symud i’r “berth,” neu adael y drefedigaeth gyda “ffieiddiad.” |
There are about two hundred physicians in good “practice” here, but it is not such a promising place for clever young people from Wales, as so many go out there all the time as ship’s doctors and assistants, and fail to find call for their skills in the ports, and are forced either to move to the “bush,” or to leave the colony in “disgust.” |
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Y mae yn llawer gwell gwlad i gyfreithwyr, er bod y “rholau” eisoes, yn ol tystiolaeth Mr. Earp, yn cynnwys deg a deugain o faryddion, a chwech ugain o dwrneiod a phroctoriaid. “Y mae pob ‘aelod o’r gyfraith’ yn cael cynnaliaeth dda mewn cymundeb lle y mae cyfreithgarwch yn rhinwedd llawer mwy poblogaeth na gonestrwydd ac uniondeb”, medd ein hawdur. |
It is a much better place for lawyers, as the “rolls”, according to the testimony of Mr. Earp, already include fifty barristers, and one hundred and twenty solicitors and proctors. “Any ‘member of the law’ can make a good living in a community where litigiousness is a much greater virtue of the population than honesty and integrity”, says our author. |
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Nid oes yno fawr o alwad am ddynion ieuainc sychfoneddig heb ddïwyno eu dwylaw erioed â gwaith gartref; ond os mynant fyned, gofalant am adael eu peraroglau a’u menyg ar ol. Yr un cynghor a ddylid ei roddi i’w chwiorydd. Er bod galwad mawr am fwy o fenywod yn yr holl drefedigaethau, y lle olaf yn y byd y dylai merch foneddig ymweled âg ef yw Awstralia. Nid yw mewn un modd yn debyg o briodi yn dda yno, ac nid rhaid i foneddigesau ieuainc byth fyned i eitha’r byd i chwilio am wŷr heb foddion ganddynt i’w cadw fel boneddigesau. Y mae digon o ddynion felly yn marw o gariad yn Nghymru. Ond dynion am wneyd arian yw y sefydlwyr Awstralaidd, ac am ferched gweithgar (yn gallu troi eu dwylaw at bob gorchwyl teuluaidd) y maent yn edrych allan. Ac y mae yn burion peth mai felly y maent, oblegid byddai pob boneddiges ieuanc yn sicr o ddihoeni a marw yn fuan yn unigrwydd difywyd y “berth.” Yn wir, nid yw fawr o wahaniaeth pa un ai byw ai marw a fyddai, oblegid wedi iddi fyned unwaith i’r “berth,” bydd wedi myned allan o’r byd hwn, i oesi yn mrefiad tragywyddol defaid nadlyd, beichiad arswydus gwartheg gwylltion, a rhochiad moch aflan a rheibus, lle nis gallai hyd yn nod tànnau swynol ei phiano esmwytho caledrwydd ei thynged, pe gallai ganu mewn gwlad mor angherddorol na chlywir un aderyn yn chwibanu ei gainc. Ac ni ddylai merched masnachwyr ac amaethwyr cyfrifol, wedi cael eu dwyn i fyny yn ein hysgolion byrddiol (boarding-schools), ond heb, mae’n wir, nemawr o gynnysgaeth tros ben eu dysg a’u dawn, byth feddwl am ymfudo, oddigerth eu bod yn myned allan ar gytundeb parhaus, o dan ofal gwragedd sefydlwyr goludog. Y mae yr anturiaeth yn beryglus hyd yn nod dan y fath amgylchiadau ffafriol. Y mae gormod o foneddigesau ieuainc talentog wedi cyrhaedd yno eisoes i ateb dybenion dysgeidiol, fel athrawesau teuluaidd, a llawer o’r cyfryw yn cynnyg eu gwasanaeth am fwrdd a chartref. Y mae llances wladaidd o forwyn pob gwaith yn gyfaddasach o lawer i ymfudo na chrefftwraig fedrus yn gallu gwneyd pob cywreinwaith gwych â’i dwylaw hyfforddus. Y cymhwysder penaf mewn merch i ymfudo i Awstralia yw, ei bod yn medru trin bwyd cyffredin, godro, corddi, gwneyd ymenyn a chaws, golchi, magu anifeiliaid ac adar dofion, &c. Ac y mae yma fawr anghen am wragedd fel y cyffredinolrwydd o ferched Cymru. Byddant yn sicr o gael y cyflog a ofynent, a chartrefi cysurus, heb son am y rhagolygiad o briodi yn gyfoethog. |
There is not much call there for foppish young men who have never soiled their hands with work at home; but if they insist on going, they should leave their scents and gloves behind. The same counsel should be given to their sisters. Though there is great call for more women in all the colonies, Australia is the last place in the world that a well-born girl should visit. She is not at all likely to marry well there, and young ladies need never go to the ends of the earth to find men without the means to keep them as ladies. There are enough such men dying of love in Wales. But the Australian settlers are men wanting to make money, and are looking out for hard-working girls (who can turn their hands to any domestic task). And it is only right that they should be so, because any young lady would be sure to pine and soon die in the lifeless loneliness of the “bush.” Indeed, there would be little difference between life and death for her, for once she had gone into the “bush,” she would have left this world, to live amid the eternal bleating of the clamorous sheep, the dreadful bellowing of the wild cattle, and the grunting of the filthy, ravenous pigs, where even the charming chords of her piano could not ease the hardship of her fate, if she could play in a land so unmusical that no bird can be heard to whistle its tune. And the daughters of reputable merchants and farmers, brought up in our boarding-schools, but without much of a dowry beyond their education and talent, should never think of emigrating, unless they go out on a continuing contract, under the care of the wives of wealthy settlers. The enterprise is perilous even under such favourable circumstances. Too many talented young ladies have arrived there already to meet educational needs, as domestic tutors, and many of them offer their services for bed and board. A country lass and maid of all work is far better suited to emigrate than an able craftswoman whose trained hands can do all kinds of fine skilled work. The chief qualification for a girl to emigrate to Australia is that she be able to prepare general food, to milk, churn, make butter and cheese, to wash, to rear animals and domestic fowls, &c. And there is much need here for women such as the generality of the daughters of Wales. They are sure to get the wages they ask, and comfortable homes, not to mention the prospects of marrying into wealth. |
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Eto, y mae pawb yn cytuno i olygu Awstralia yn lle anfanteisiol i grefftwyr medrus, oddigerth Sydney yma a’r prif drefydd, lle y mae rhyw nifer yn cael gwaith a chyflog da. Er eglurhad, ni ddylai un math o gelfyddydwr cywrain ryfygu myned allan, oddieithr ei fod yn cychwyn ar rag-gytundeb sicr, ac i waith sefydlog. Ynfydrwydd yw i ddodrefnwyr cywreingar (cabinet-makers), cerfwyr a goreurwyr, paentwyr addurnol, darluniol, a phortreiol, gemyddion, oriorwyr (watchmakers), gofaint aur ac arian, gwneuthurwyr offerynau celfyddydol, &c., freuddwydio am lwydd yn awr yn Awstralia.3 Ac y mae yr amser heb ddyfod pryd y gellir cynghori crefft-feistriaid i ymfudo, oddigerth bod ganddynt ryw gysylltiadau eisoes yn y drefedigaeth. Y mae y rheswm yn amlwg: mewn trefedigaeth fabanaidd nid oes eisieu dim ond gwaith bras a rhwydd iawn at wasanaeth pobl â’u bryd yn unig at gasglu digon o cyfoeth, a dychwelyd adref i fwynhau esmwythfyd a gwychder yn y diwedd. Yn mysg preswylwyr y “berth” y mae pob cywreinwaith, megys paentio addurniadol, cerfio a goreuro, &c., yn cael ei gyfrif yn mysg “y gwageddau a welir dan haul.” Dyn a all droi ei law at dipyn o bob gwaith cyffredin—math o Siôn-pob-crefft—yw y dyn goreu i fyned i Awstralia. Yn y golygiad hwn, y mae llawer Cymro yn meddu cryn gymhwysder. Gadëwch iddo fod yn weithiwr da ar y tir gartref—yn gryn arddwr, yn dipyn o saer, yn rhywfaint o ôf, ac yn ddarn o feddyg anifeiliaid, y mae yn sicr o wneyd yn dda, a myned yn wr boneddig yn y diwedd. Ond na ddigaloned neb, os oes rhywfaint o ddychymyg yn ei ben, ac amcan yn ei ddwylaw. Os gwnaeth cynnifer o ladron Llundain eu fortune yma mewn ffordd onest—dynion heb allu troi eu bysedd erioed gartref at ddim ond drwg—peth rhyfedd yw os nad allai cryddion a theilwriaid gonest a gweithgar Cymru, yn gystal a’n seiri a’n gofaint, wneyd yn o lew yn y “Wlad Euraidd” hon. Byddai y ffaith eu bod wedi dyfod allan fel “ymfudwyr rhydd” yn gymeradwyaeth a chefnogaeth gref iddynt. Rhaid bod dyn yn hynod o ddifedr os nad all wneyd dim ond ei waith ei hun. Ond y mae agos i bob crefftwr yn Nghymru yn gallu gwneyd rhywfaint o waith allan—trin y rhaw a’r gaib yn lled hylaw, os nad all feistroli cryman a phladur, a gwneyd gorchestion rhwng deugorn aradr; gall lifio, hollti, naddu, a hoelio coed: ac y mae wedi bod yn taraw ganwaith i wneyd pedol yn ngefail y pentref, ac yn eistedd ar y pentan i weled y gôf yn llunio cant o bethau rhyfedd â’i forthwyl. Ond odid nad yw yn trin ei ardd yn daclus, ac yn codi amrywiaeth o gnydau arni; ac y mae garddwr cegin cartrefol yn llawer gwell peth yn Awstralia na blodeuwr proffesedig, wedi ei dynu trwy arogledd dysgeidiol y gerddi breninol. Yn fyr, y mae wedi gweled pob gwaith gwladaidd o’i febyd, a dwylyn difedr iawn ydyw os na all wneyd tipyn o bobpeth. Os gall, efe yw y dyn i fyned allan. Y mae ei waith yn barod, a’i daledigaeth hardd yn ei ddysgwyl. Gresyn ei fod yn llwfrddyn mor ddigalon ag aros i hanner newynu gartref, pan y mae y Nef wedi darparu helaethrwydd difesur ar ei gyfer o fewn terfynau trefedigol ei wlad ei hun. Y mae y llywodraeth yn barod i’w gludo ef, ei wraig, a’i blant, drosodd am ddim bron. Fel y dywedasom eisoes, llafurwyr a chrefftwyr gwladaidd a ddylent ymfudo ar antur. Y mae joiner yn well peth yno na chabinet-maker, a saer yn well na joiner. Gall saer dodrefn gwladaidd, yn wir, fyw yn dda yno, tra y bydd y cerfiedydd cywrain, yr hwn a all dori pob math o ryfeddodau ar goed a meini, farw o eisieu gorchwyl a chefnogaeth yn y “berth.” |
Again, everyone agrees in considering Australia an unprofitable place for skilled artisans, outside of Sydney and the main towns, where such a number have work and good wages. To clarify, no sort of skilled artisan should dare to go out, unless he sets out on a definite prior agreement, and to settled work. It is folly for skilled cabinet-makers, engravers and gilders, decorative, illustrative, and portrait painters, jewellers, watchmakers, gold- and silversmiths, tool-makers, &c., to dream of success now in Australia.3 And the time has not come when one could advise masters of any trade to emigrate, unless they already have connections in the colony. The reason is obvious: in an infant colony there is no need for anything but rough and very easy work for the use of people intent only on amassing enough wealth, and eventually returning home to enjoy luxury and splendour. Among the inhabitants of the “bush” all skilled work, such as decorative painting, engraving and gilding, &c., is counted among “the vanities seen under the sun.”xv A man who can turn his hand to a bit of general work of any kind—a Jack-of-all-trades—is the best man to go to Australia. In this regard, many a Welshman is amply qualified. Suppose him to be a good worker on the land at home—quite a gardener, a bit of a carpenter, something of a blacksmith, and sometime veterinarian—he is sure to do well, and eventually become a gentleman. But no one should be discouraged, if he has some imagination in his head, and purpose in his hands. If so many of London’s thieves have made their fortune in honest ways here—men who have never been able to use their fingers for anything but crime—it would be surprising if the honest and hard-working cobblers and tailors of Wales, as well as our carpenters and blacksmiths, could not do quite well in this “Golden Land”. The fact that they had come out as “free emigrants” would be a recommendation and a strong encouragement for them. A man must be remarkably incapable if he can do nothing but his own work. But almost every artisan in Wales can do a certain amount of other work—wielding the spade and the hoe quite handily, if not being master of sickle and scythe, and accomplishing feats behind the plough; he can saw, split, hew, and nail wood: and has gone a hundred times to have a shoe made in the village smithy, and sat on the chimney-corner to watch the blacksmith forge a hundred marvels with his hammer. He probably tends his garden carefully, and grows a variety of crops in it; and a domestic kitchen gardener is a much better thing in Australia than a professional florist, familiar with the refined fragrances of the royal gardens. In short, he has seen all kinds of rural work from his boyhood, and a most incompetent dullard he must be if cannot do a bit of everything. If he can, he is the man to go out. His work is ready, and his handsome pay awaits him. What a pity he is such a craven coward as to wait to half-starve at home, when the Lord has prepared a measureless abundance for him within the colonial bounds of his own country. The government is ready to convey him, his wife, and his children there for almost nothing. As we have already said, it is rural labourers and artisans who should emigrate at a venture. A joiner is a better thing there than a cabinet-maker, and a carpenter is better than a joiner. Indeed, a country furniture maker can live well there, while the skilled engraver, who can cut all kinds of wonders in wood and stone, dies for want of employment and support in the “bush.” |
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1 “Y berth” (“the bush” yw yr enw cyffredinol ar y wlad yn Awstralia, i’w gwahaniaethu oddiwrth y porthladdoedd a’r trefydd. 2 Crib bryn yn edrych tros ddinas Sydney, ac wedi ei goroni â phalasau a llysoedd masnachwyr tywysogaidd, a gwŷr yn byw ar eu golud ennilledig. Yma y mae y llys drwgweithredol, yn gysylltiedig â charchardŷ ëang. Treuliwyd hanner can’ mil o bunnau ar yr adeilad hon. 3 Oddieithr eu bod yn penderfynu gadael eu galwedigaethau priod, a throi eu dwylaw at y fugeilffon, yr aradr, y fwyell, y llif, y gaib, a’r rhaw. |
1 “The bush” is the common name for the country in Australia, to distinguish it from the ports and the towns. 2 The crest of a hill looking over the city of Sydney, and crowned with the palaces and courts of princely merchants, and men living on their acquired wealth. The criminal court is here, attached to a huge prison. Fifty thousand pounds were spent on this building. 3 Unless they decide to leave their proper vocations, and turn their hands to the shepherd’s crook, the plough, the axe, the saw, the hoe, and the spade. |
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xv After Ecclesiastes 4:7. |