FL661364

with the Aborigines have often
been struck with the fact that at least
the young men & boys very soon acquire
and speak the English language correctly
& fluently. You can draw out their minds
so as to reflect & reason.
Whether any or many individuals amongst
them might prove when enjoying superior
education, deep philosophers, or great mathe-
maticians, or good arithmaticians may be
doubted. still we can not assert the
contrary.
I do not wonder much at the uncivilized
[word crossed out] & ignorant state of the Aborigines,
being so widely & thinly scattered & without
intercourse perhaps for ages as we may suppose
with other races; what else would be the result?
Let us imagine a few families of Europeans
living in the Interior without any means of instruction
without a book of any kind [words crossedout] their
offspring for a few centuries or generations cut
off from the civilized world, might they not become
almost as ignorant & uncivilized as the Aborigines?

with the Aborigines had here been struck with the fact that at least that young men & boys very soon acquire and speak the English language correctly & fluently. You can draw out their minds so as to reflect & reason.
Whether any or many individuals amongst them might prove when enjoying superior education, deep philosophers, or great mathematicians or good as theoreticians may be doubted.Still we can not assume the contrary

I do not wonder much at the uncivilised & ignorant state of the Aborigines, being so widely & thinly scattered & without intercourse perhaps for ages as we may suppose with other races: what else would be the result?

Let us imagine a few families of ^ Europeans living in the interior without any means of instruction, without a book of any kind,for a few centuries, their offspring for a few centuries or generations cut off from the civilized world, might they not become almost as ignorant & uncivilized as the Aborigines?