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110 on September 21st, 1839, by Mr. Williams under bis celebrated Sadi Mahommed Tent. A week before that, three allotments were disposed of opposite to Fawkner’s Hotel, and adjoining the Wesleyan Chapel, at the rate of 26 guineas a foot, or £3408 an allotment. Two of them cost Mr. Ebden £41 and £45 respectively ; the other was bought by Lilly the Auctioneer for £42. In July, 1839, four lots in the bush, now occupied by Mr. Clarke the bookseller and his neighbours, realized £42 for each section of 28 feet frontage. One half of Dr. Howitt’s corner, Collins Street, was advertized in that year for lease for 10 years at a rental of £20 a year. Of another allotment, 3 of 15, next but one to St. James’ Church reserve, the Auctioneer, Mr. Lilly, grew so eloquent in 1839, as to talk of “ This naissant empire of the South Seas,” declaring that “ Words insufficient to describe, and language, like Vulcan obeying the behests of Venus, follows thought with a slow and halting pace.” Country and Suburban lands had not began to experience changes, for at our period of history they were now just being brought into the market by Government. As early as October 1839, the 28 acre lot of Victoria Parade, west of Brunswick Street was cut up and sold. That in front of it was long a sort of Canvas Town for the squalid tents and huts on leasehold lots. Most of the farming region was bought up by Sydney men ; and our paper of April, 1839, has this remark upon them :—“ Of all the beautiful tracts of agricultural soil only one section has been laid out for improvement, the rest will be fallow for years to come, unless the Sydney speculators earn the Israelitish in terest they pant for.” Yet one Sydney firm, Messrs. Hughes and Hoskings, managed to buy a thousand acres at 7s. 6d. an acre, in October 1838, and resell the whole within a month at 20s. In 1837 the proceeds of the land sales amounted to £7,221; in 1838, to £62,457 ; in 1839, to £59,995. The following year, 1840, was the era of Government sales. In 1838 there were sold 73 Melbourne lots at the rate of £250 an acre ; and 20 in Williams Town, at £90 an acre. In Wollert, Keelbundara, and Will Will Rook parishes were sold 29,748 acres ; of which 1000 averaged 10s. ; 2000, 36s. ; 3000 20s. and the rest at from 6s. 9d. to 10s. an acre. The first record of Geelong Sales occurs in the Sydney Gazette of October 26th, 1838 : ‘‘ Notice is hereby given that a site has been fixed upon for a Town-
