that by applying a considerable proportion of the funds derived from the land to the encouragement of such immigration, a constantly accelerated rate of progress might be maintained. This is specially the case in Australia, where mere inhabitation produces a wonderful effect in improving the character of the soil-a fact which has been established even on those comparatively barren 'runs' which would scarcely appear to afford a blade of grass for the support of sheep. It often been has pointed out that Australia, heavily handicapped as she is in comparison with America in respect to European emigration, can only enter the competition on fair terms by some temporary apparent sacrifice. It cannot be pretended that at present the Australian colonies, as a whole, appreciate this position. The total emigration from the United Kingdom to Australasia in 1874 amounted to 53,958-a number far in excess of that for any of the previous ten years; but the greater part of these went to New Zealand. Yet Australia is even more underpeopled than New Zealand. Even in Victoria the most densely populated colony, there are but 808,439 people to an area of 88,000 square miles, or about nine to the square mile —a proportion which seems ridiculous when the large amount of agricultural acreage is taken into consideration. New South Wales has 584,378 inhabitants scattered over an area of 323,437 square miles. In Victoria and New South Wales, moreover, large cities account for full a quarter of the population. South Australia has 206,000 souls to an area of 914,730 square miles, and Queensland 163,517 to an area of 678,600 square miles. In these two colonies there are vast tracts of unexplored country, and the northern districts are probably unsuited to permanent European colonisation; but both are now making some efforts to attract population by means of

assisted' emigration and minute land grants-the latter being too often of little or no value to the incoming settlers. The strange part of the story is that Victoria and New South Wales, which in reality need population as much as their neighbours in order to maintain their rate of progress, treat the whole matter with indifference; or, indeed, in the instance of the former colony, show a positive hostility to the arrival of more of their own countrymen. Here, again, is a subject which, viewed from the standpoint of an Australian rather than from that of a particular colonist, would at once show clearer. No one can suppose that the natural increase of the 2,000,000 people already settled on the shores of the continent can suffice within any reasonable period to fully develop and colonise such a country. The very money which is being spent on public works will be half thrown away unless population be encouraged to come and make use of them. It is therefore for the advantage of the whole population that all Australia should be open to intending settlers on the same terms. And for a change of policy on the part of the older colonies there could be no more favourable time than the present. For the first time since 1858 the emigration from Europe to the United States shows a tendency to decrease, whilst the increasing dulness of trade in the United Kingdom must predispose many of the working class in England to seek a new field of employment before the pinch comes. The fact has now been established beyond all question, that such emigration to English colonies immensely benefits not only those who leave but those who stay. The trade which an Australian colonist at once develops with the mother country far more than compensates for the cost of the passage to the colony which pays it,

and at the same time adds largely to the employment afforded to his brethren at home. And this makes it the more a subject for regret that the legitimate influence which ought to have belonged to the mother country in the disposal of the waste lands should have been surrendered. There is reason to hope, however, that eventually the good sense of the combined colonies will remedy the mistake which has been made, and that the general welfare of the Empire will be served by an enlightened and, at the same time, generous policy in the future. In speaking of the waste lands of Australia reference must be made to the extraordinary results which will probably be produced hereafter by irrigation carried out on an adequate scale. One of the great drawbacks to the continent as compared with America is that it has no rich central plains. The greater part of the interior is apparently dry and barren. Yet no one who has passed through Australia can have failed to notice that wherever water has been stored, even on an insignificant scale, there the soil in the immediate neighbourhood of the reservoir or dam has given evidence of an amount of fertility altogether unsuspected before. In the one or two places where irrigation has been practised in a systematic way the change wrought has been quite miraculous. It cannot be urged that there is an absolute deficiency of water. The average rainfall in Australia is even in excess of what it is at home. But the country, owing to the deficient storage and utter neglect of the most elementary rules of dealing with water as a fertilising agent, suffers from an alternation of droughts and floods. Parts of India which are now among the richest and most productive in the peninsula, would soon be as worthless as the driest parts of Australia if the tanks were allowed to fall into decay; and in some districts, where

this decay has taken place owing to parsimony or misgovernment, the land has at once been thrown out of cultivation. But even more suggestive than India is what has been done by the Mormons in Utah. There, chiefly by the skilful use of irrigation, a desert has been turned into a garden, and a climate and soil not widely different from that of a great part of Australia have been taken advantage of to a degree which could never have been imagined before that industrious people commenced their operations. Irrigation, however, it may be said, may fairly be left to the exertions of the local authorities; and at present it would be too early to attempt to treat the matter as a great national work to be undertaken at once. Nevertheless it will probably be found that in this as in other cases it is of the utmost importance to begin in the right way. Canals and aqueducts are as much public works as railways; and, although private individuals will no doubt lead the way, as they have done already, by storing water for special purposes, the main plans of irrigation, if ever the system is introduced, will have to be laid by the various colonial governments. Not the least of the advantages to be gained from a proper and careful storage of water is that the excessive heat and dryness of the climate during the summer months might, by degrees, be at least partially modified.

When speaking of the probabilities of confederation in Australia, however, it is not the general combination for the development of the country of which people chiefly think, nor of the improvement of communications, but of the almost insuperable difficulty of overcoming the differences between the various colonies on the subject of Customs. And if Australia follows the example of the last and greatest confederation, that of the Empire of Germany, it

is probable that it will be by a Customs Union that a more intimate connection will be inaugurated. At present it is useless to go through the irreconcilable tariffs of the different colonies. In that which calls itself the most advanced and enlightened colony of all, those very articles are most severely taxed the import of which at a cheap rate would be of the greatest service to the two leading industries of the country. Nor can it be thought other than monstrous that in two contiguous colonies, with almost identical soils, climate, &c., both under the English Crown, there should be a difference of 15 or even 30 per cent. in the duty which may have to be paid on the importation of some necessary article, or that similar duties should be exacted as between the colonies themselves. All such miserable restrictions act as hindrances to trade, besides being a heavy tax upon the whole community for the benefit of a small minority. A traveller going with his baggage from one colonial capital to another has to undergo almost as much annoyance as an American citizen unknown to the custom house officials meets with on his return to New York from Europe. Australians are never tired of declaiming themselves against these foolish old-world tariffs; but the craze of Protection is too deeply rooted in the minds of the half-educated to be pulled up all at once. That a bigoted protectionist like Mr. Parkes should, in his old age, recant in a fit of pique, and carry the colony of New South Wales with him, is indeed a subject for congratulation-though scarcely for the enthusiasm displayed by the Cobden Club. It is gratifying also to find that Mr. Boucaut of South Australia can talk of 'annexing' Victoria to the more liberal system; but the fact remains that, so far, every conference has led to nothing. That the

one

tendency at the present time is favourable to a more liberal tariff must be admitted; and all who wish well to Australia must hope that, ere long, Sir James M'Culloch will follow in the steps of Mr. Parkes and give up his economical errors, even in the face of the factions opposition which he has already encountered and may have to encounter again. So long as important colony stands out for a protective tariff the whole country is injured, however much its neighbours may profit as compared with itself for the time. Melbourne became the great depôt for goods imported into Australia under a very different commercial policy from that which has since been adopted, and of late her prosperity has distinctly declined in comparison with the progress of other cities of less size. Thus, even from the most narrow view of local interest, some change would clearly be beneficial. And, a customs union once established, the arrangement of all taxation, both colonial and federal, would be far more easy. It would then appear that, though there may be reasons for raising a higher revenue in proportion to the population in one colony than in another, this could very well be done by the local machinery, and without the introduction of a false principle which would threaten to put the whole out of gear.

To speak of federal taxation is, perhaps, premature; and yet it is plain, from what has already been said, that there are certain charges which would most properly fall upon a general fund, to which all the members of the confederation, if formed, would contribute their share. This is specially applicable to the question of National Defence. As has lately been pointed out by a writer in this Magazine the Australian colonies are most tempting subjects for a raid; and such a scare as that re

ferred to as occurring during the Crimean War might have good reason to reproduce itself in the event of a war between Great Britain and another great power. The mother country is undoubtedly bound to protect her colonies by sea to the fullest extent, and she could scarcely avoid doing so even in her own interest; but wealthy communities can scarcely afford to run much risk, and it cannot be maintained that at present our Australian colonists have sufficiently insured themselves against a sudden attack by an organised force. There is no necessity that an elaborate system of militia should be set on foot as in Canada; but a total volunteer force of under 10,000 men, many of whom are anything rather than efficient, is not a reasonable protection for such cities as Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide. An enemy who desired to strike at our Australian colonies would not, we may be sure, select for attack the protected points when there are so many smaller harbours at which a hostile army could be securely debarked. There is little hope, however, that this danger will receive adequate attention until some serious alarm is raised. The course which has been pursued with respect to the mails shows how difficult it is to bring about harmonious action even in regard to matters on which, as a general rule, the people are all agreed. Thus Victoria pays 90,000l. a year as subsidy to the Peninsular and Oriental Company for a monthly service averaging about forty-three days from London to Melbourne, whilst New South Wales pays a subsidy of 45,000l. a year for another monthly service, most ir regularly conducted hitherto, by way of Fiji and San Francisco. In this New South Wales secures the co-operation of New Zealandwhich colony has made several endeavours in this direction-to a like amount. There seems little

doubt, however, that, if the two chief Australian colonies were to combine, they could obtain for a subsidy of 135,000l. a more rapid and certain fortnightly service by way of the Suez Canal than by any other route. The present contract with the Peninsular and Oriental Company does not expire until 1879, and it is possible that by that time there will be more disposition shown in this case also to act together in order to obtain a more satisfactory result.

It is singular that the only two subjects on which all the Australian colonies have, so far, been of one mind, have been what may fairly be considered of a 'sentimental' character. Marriage with a deceased wife's sister has now been legalised throughout Australia, and the Australians will probably succeed in forcing a similar reform of the law upon the Imperial Parlia ment. In dealing with the question for themselves, they showed more practical good sense than has been displayed in the lengthy discussions which have gone on at home. The other point on which all the colonies seem to be agreed is in attempting to apply a sort of 'Manifest Destiny' or Monroe Doctrine' to the whole of the South Pacific Ocean at the expense of the mother country. New Caledonia in French hands is not looked upon with much favour; and not content with having secured the annexation of Fiji, which it was impossible to avoid, they now with one accord clamour loudly for the immediate annexation of Papua to the British Empire. Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide vie with each other in prophesying the ills which will befall Australia in the future, unless that vast island be at once subjected to the Imperial control. But it is pleasant to notice, without entering upon this debatable ground, that the whole discussion has been carried on, as well in the press as elsewhere, from an Austra

lian point of view as distinguished from that which might be taken for the advantage of any separate colony. Queensland, which is nearest to the country wanted, has, perhaps, had less to say in the matter than any. This, so far, bears ont what has been maintained; namely, that the first steps towards confederation have already been taken when once the idea of an undivided future for the whole continent lays hold upon the mind of the people. If half the energy which has been shown in the attempt to force New Guinea upon the mother country were applied to matters more immediately concerning the general welfare of the colonies, no long time would elapse before we should

see a Dominion of Australia.

It is difficult to exaggerate the influence which such a power as Australia will become may eventually exercise. We need not take Von Hellwald's somewhat over-coloured view of the political drama that will be enacted on the Pacific Ocean, to appreciate the fact that we are at the commencement of an entirely new era in the history of this portion of the world.

The promising trade which is springing up with up with India and China may bring Australia almost within the range of Asiatic politics; whilst the increasing inclination of the Chinamen to emigrate to

countries where they can obtain good wages, together with security of life and property, gives rise to the question whether they may not be better adapted than Europeans to colonise the northern districts, and further whether it would be safe to admit such an immigration on an even more extended scale than that which is now going on in Northern Queensland. The subject at any rate bids fair to complicate still further our already varied relations with Oriental races.

That restless activity which, in combination with other and sterner qualities, has given us our colonies and our commercial supremacy, is strongly developed in our fellowcountrymen at the Antipodes, and, perhaps, in no portion of the British Empire are its honour and glory more earnestly cherished. The continent is entirely at the disposal of the English colonists. Their prosperity is already unrivalled by that of any equal number of people on the face of the globe. remains for them to take advantage of the great opportunities which lie before them by drawing yet closer the bands of their common interests, assured that, by so doing, they will advance the welfare, not only of their own country, but also of the great empire of which they form a part.

H. M. HYNDMAN.

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