The arrival of Pastor Kavel in the year 1838 with a flock of German Evangelical Lutherans must not be forgotten as a valuable addition to our population. I have much pleasure in adding his name to the list of early ministers of religion who brought into our province, and in their official characters exhibited true Christian feelings and energy and evinced a thorough freedom from sectarian narrowness.

In the months of November and December in that year the ship Zebra, Captain Hahn, and the Prince George arrived from Hamburg with German families, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Kavel, who was truly a shepherd over them, not only administering to their spiritual wants, but also acting as overlooker to a great extent of their temporal affairs.

The community of useful colonists whom he brought out had been assisted to a great extent by Mr. G. F. Angas, of Lindsay House, Angaston. On this action I may remark, without fear of contradiction, that this wealthy and beneficent gentleman never made a better use of his money than in affording to this body of Lutherans the means to migrate to this colony, and to escape from the persecution to which they had been subjected in their own country.

Without being guilty of an intrusion on the quiet and unostentatious actions of Mr. Angas, I think, as a public benefactor to a much greater extent to the colony of South Australia than any other of its founders, some record should be made in these discursive papers of the obligations we owe to him. He was not only one of the Committee who struggled to obtain our charter; but when his funds and presence in the colony were so much needed, he further made large investments, and a few years later took up his residence among us, and is now spending his last days here, and thus has set an example which has not been always followed by those who have made their fortunes here; too large a proportion of such fortunate individuals being now absentees, drawing their incomes to be spent in other countries, and untaxed by us.

Shortly after the arrival of Pastor Kavel with his numerous children—as they might truly be called from the benign influence he exercised over them—he called upon me and explained the circumstances under which this large body of immigrants had arrived, viz.—that they were generally poor, but industrious and honest; that they had been, by the assistance of a loan, enabled to make the passage, and that they required cattle and other things, including land, which they must to a great extent procure on credit, and asked me if I would oblige them with cattle.

Some few amongst them had money, and might pay with cash; some could pay part of the purchase-money, and those who required full credit would pay instalments at certain fixed periods. I did not hesitate to comply, and was soon visited by a number of his people.

First came a small capitalist who wanted a pair of oxen, and exhibited his small bag of sovereigns with some pride. He pointed out to me on the outside of the yard a hand-truck to which he had fixed a long slight pole, and gave me to understand that he wanted a pair of oxen to attach to that vehicle to take his luggage, with which it was loaded, over the hills, pointing to Mount Lofty.

He had a companion with him who could speak a few words of English. I knew nothing of German. He showed me a rope, and gave me to understand he intended to guide or drive the oxen according to his country fashion. As I was much puzzled what to do with him, I shook my head to imply his system would not answer with our cattle.

On this he produced again his money-bag, to which I nodded and said "Yes" which gave him and his family much pleasure and caused them to exclaim "Yah, yah"; and then they climbed on the fence of the large stockyard in which were a number of wild cattle, brought in for the butchers.

Now I had to shake my head again and say ''No, no;'' but it was no use, my customer kept repeating "Yah, yah," and his friend said "How much?" pointing out two bullocks. He was told £42 the pair. One was the wildest and wickedest beast in the yard, and another a good match for him.

As I could not make him understand me, I was leaving the party when my stockkeeper called my attention to a quiet pair of small leaders in another yard in which were a number of quiet milking cows, which I told him he could have for £42 the pair in yoke, but he declined with contempt, as I had mentioned the same price for the larger bullocks in the other yard.

Finding I could not make myself understood, and that the intended buyer had worked himself into a violent passion, showing, as I thought, a charge that I wanted to cheat him, I walked away to my house, leaving him violently gesticulating to my men. I had not been long away when I heard a great noise of roaring bullocks and men's voices, and returned to see what was the matter.

It appeared after I left he had tendered to my foreman the money named, which was the price fixed for the pick of unbroken bullocks in the yard. My men wished for no better fun, so they complied with his wishes, and roped up one of the beasts he had chosen, which, went quietly into the strong bail used to yoke up steers in, and on roping the other brute, which he was so determined to have, the bullock became quite furious, and was roaring and dashing about in such a manner that the German was frightened enough and met me begging for his money which my man had received.

I ordered the rope to be cut, when the beast, rushed at and cleared the fence, and made off. A man on horseback was sent after him, and the bullock was found on the banks of the Torrens where he had tossed a constable and seriously injured him, and was quickly shot by one of the troopers.

As the German had been so obstinate and had caused so much trouble I refused to return his money, but desired him to call on me with his pastor. Before he could leave the man returned with the news of the damage done. The German's whole family were present. His wife had in the meantime been handling the quiet milking cows in the milking yard, and now they petitioned me to let them have two quiet cows in place of the bullocks, to which I complied, and the whole family went off with their newly acquired live stock highly pleased, especially as I made a return of the difference in the price, as the wife had not chosen two of the highest priced ones but the quietest, and I was willing to submit to some loss on the bullock to get clear of the party.

Some of the family yoked themselves to the truck, which was such a one as two large goats might have drawn; and after making several journeys, I was told in the same manner by hand, they managed to get over the hills the whole of their goods. It must not be forgotten that at the time this was done no road had been cut or formed, and the greater part of the goods of the community was carried on backs and shoulders to the village named by them Hahndorf in honor of Captain Hahn.

I have given the above account of my first transaction with these people to show how little they were acquainted with colonial matters. I had subsequently many dealings with them, and invariably found them punctual and honest.

I continue to relate what difficulties this community had to experience and get over in acquiring land on which to found their settlements.

One they formed at Klemzig where Pastor Kavel lived for years. The other settlement was at Hahndorf. Owing to our land system not then admitting of purchase on credit from the Government, the Germans who arrived in the early days instead of paying £1 to the State paid long prices and heavy interest to private speculators. At Hahndorf they had to pay £7 an acre. I do not know what interest they were charged, but I dare say 10 per cent. Now this land was part of the first special survey taken up by Dutton, Finniss, & McFarlane, at a cost to them of £1 an acre, and was not by any means the pick of their land; so no favor was shown in this essential arrangement with the strangers, who, I think I may say were taken in.

They had to pay off the principal by annual payments. The quantity of land was 240 acres, which cost them £1,680. Then, through the pastor, they obtained credit for provisions, &c., to the amount of £1,500, until their own crops were realised on. Their seed wheat had cost them £1 a bushel, and they had to procure cattle at not less than £40 a pair.

Up to the time of their arrival the inhabitants of Adelaide had been insufficiently supplied with vegetables and dairy produce, and these at an exorbitant price—butter at 2s. 6d. a lb., and eggs the same. The Germans very soon began to carry into the city for sale small supplies of butter, and, within a few months, vegetables, generally on the backs of the females, and in the same manner taking back their supplies of rations.

After a time a string of matrons and girls would be seen wending their way to the capital at that time in their German costume. Before the end of their first year of residence amongst us they furnished a good supply to us of vegetables, &c., and to themselves a good profit.

At their first harvest their little hand-mills were set agoing; and they soon cleared off all their debts, and purchased from the Government 240 acres of land for cash, at £1 an acre, contiguous to their township. Their implements were of their own construction, and primitive enough, of forms which had been in use in their own country for hundreds of years. For some time after their arrival we would see funny rigs attached to one of their small ploughs or wooden harrows—say a woman with a strap over her shoulder with a rope to a swingle-tree, a necessary advantage given to her in length, and at the other shorter end a small bullock, a cow, or a pony, the husband or father holding with one hand the one-handled plough, and with the other hand a long pipe, which, he was deliberately smoking—the wooden plough light enough to be carried on a man's shoulder.

It was not long before we saw them in better circumstances, with their pairs of fine and fat horses, kept and treated in a manner which set an example to the settlers amongst whom they had come.

At an early period old Lubash, who was a sergeant in the Prussian artillery at the battle of Waterloo, opened in the village of Hahndorf, first a coffee-shop and soon after-wards a licensed house, and ran a pony mail-cart, much to the accommodation of the small population then settled in the district. Many a hard battle of words have I fought with the old sergeant, but never succeeded in convincing him that the battle was won before the arrival of old Blucher. Lubash claimed to have been with the advanced detachment of guns which unlimbered and fired the first volley, and saved, as he maintained, the English army.

At the first shearing of sheep, after their arrival in the neighborhood of their village, the community at Hahndorf contracted to shear a flock for Mr. D. Macfarlane; and as I witnessed their peculiar mode of performing the work, I will relate what I saw.

The shearers were principally young women, who were waited on by men of the village, who, as called on, caught and carried the sheep to the shearer who was ready. The sheep was carefully laid down on its side; the young woman, without shoes and stockings, had a piece of thick soft string tied to one of her great toes, the other end was then tied to the hind foot of the sheep ; the girl's leg was then stretched out to extend the legs of the sheep; her knee or left hand was pressed on the neck or shoulder of the animal, which was then left to her charge, and she commenced her clipping work, most carefully avoiding any snips of the skin. The number shorn by one never exceeded 30 a day.

At first I was inclined to laugh, but I was soon pleased to see how tenderly the sheep were handled. The wool was not taken off very close. The whole party worked with a will, and the amount they earned went towards the payment for their land, as Mr. D. Macfarlane, the owner of the sheep, was one of the original proprietors who sold the land to them at such a smart profit.

This first and successful experiment in the introduction of German immigrants was followed by several other shiploads, some, as I am informed, assisted also by Mr. Angas, and many others who have been aided by their friends who had preceded them and been successful. The influence of Pastor Kavel was very great, his personal exertions on behalf of his countrymen were untiring, and with a perfect forgetfulness of self, so that he could not fail in establishing a community remarkable for probity and respect for our laws; as the annals of the Supreme Court bear witness, that there has been no single instance in which one of his flock has been convicted of a serious offence.

The Rev. Mr. Kavel was universally beloved. He had married a wife of an alien nation, viz., English, shortly before his arrival, and in this respect departed from the general actions of his people, with whom a certain degree of jealousy was from the first displayed against becoming amalgamated with the English population amongst whom they had settled.

It has been objected to these German emigrants that the colonists do not derive any direct benefit from their labor, but this is not a liberal view to take, as they rent a good deal of land from English proprietors, and, when not engaged on their own holdings, gladly take work from the adjoining settlers. By the untiring industry and rigid frugality of the inhabitants of Hahndorf they soon paid off all their debts; and although most of those who arrived here, and are still alive, remain in their original location, many of the younger branches have taken up land on their own account, and are becoming amalgamated with the English population. At all events they all, young and old, prove themselves good and loyal subjects of our gracious Queen.

On some occasions I attended the services of the Rev. Mr Kavel, and, without notice, on his observing English hearers present, he would address us in our own language, apparently to the gratification of his own people. He early suffered the loss of his wife, who was buried at Klemzig, and seemed for a time almost bowed down with grief. He was universally beloved, and he, as well as other ministers of various sects of religion who had come among us in the early days, was endowed with true Christian love, and was free from any narrow sectarian taint.

"He procured the publication of a neat pamphlet, containing statistical accounts of the colony, with a lithographed print of the city and a map of the colony, with letters from German settlers containing glowing descriptions of the success they had met with. This little work was extensively circulated in Germany, and no doubt has led numbers who have left their own nation to join us in this antipodal region."

Such success having been attained by the German communities which have settled in South Australia with their ministers and religious organizations, it appears to me to be regretted that the arrangement which was partly made with Bishop Bugnion for a community under him to be settled in our Northern Territory was not supported by the Government, unless there were discovered sufficient grounds for abandoning the plan, as from all accounts I have met with the people he proposed to bring have shown their good qualities as settlers wherever they have been introduced.

The following German villages were early formed, viz.:—Klemzig, Hahndorf, Lobethal (in which our first woollen factory has been established), Bethanien, Langmiel, as well as several other smaller communities, and now as fresh arrivals come they are more dispersed abroad than when the first communities arrived. From the Hartz Mountains and Saxony we have not had the number of miners and smelters desired, as such workers are specially adapted to obtain and smelt our minerals. (To be continued.)