“Commissioners to put the Act in execution were appointed by the Crown, May 5th, 1835; the chairman being Colonel Torrens, and Sir William Hutt and Sir John Lefevre being two of the commissioners. To this body I was appointed Secretary. To colonise, without any assistance from Government, an almost unknown wilderness, was a sufficiently difficult task; but the difficulties of the commission were increased by certain stipulations which Government, doubtless a little uneasy at the novel project of independent colonisation, had thought proper to impose.[82] One of these was the preliminary investment in Government securities of the sum of £55,000, £35,000 to be produced by sale of land, and the remaining £20,000 to be raised on the security both of further sales and of the colonial revenue; the investment in full to precede the exercise of any of the general powers and authorities under the Act. As no surveys had yet been made, the province indeed being very little known, and as even the site of the capital could not yet be fixed on, compliance with such requirements was obviously difficult, and the difficulty was increased by the want of funds with which to pay preliminary expenses; but by great effort the necessary means were secured before the close of November in the same year,[83] And here, in justice, it must be mentioned, that in the great work of founding the colony, the Commissioners were materially assisted by the formation of the South Australian Company, due mainly to the exertions of Mr. G. F. Angas. “Under all circumstances, however, the early surveying of the land was very important; while, at the same time, economy restricted the choice of surveyors mainly to those embarking in the enterprise on other grounds. The selection having been made, however, and the staff sent out, we hoped for the best; but disappointment followed. The survey made slow progress, and demands came home for such an increase of force as in that early stage would have swamped the whole enterprise. These, fortunately, my previous practice in surveying enabled me successfully to oppose; but it was not until a new chief surveyor had been sent out, in the person of Lieutenant (now General) Frome, R.E., and a new governor with ampler powers than his predecessor, that matters were at length put right.[84]