THE BACK DOOR OF AUSTRALIA.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12825, 8 June 1907, Page 8

THE BACK DOOR OF AUSTRALIA.

It is difficult to sco any good rea.-»n for the opposition of the Australian Premiere to the Northern Territory being taken over by the Commonwoalth Government. On the contrary, it is probablo that the principal motive influencing th© Conference in its decision was jealousy of th© power of tho Federation. Tho decision is to be regretted because in th© interests of Australia it is necessary that something should bo done quickly to develop tho Territory, and it is pretty certain that South Australia, however willing it may be, is not equal to the task. Tli© question is of momentous importance to Australia, and for that mattor, to New Zealand. Th© tacking on of the Territory to South Australia was a blunder in the firet place. New South Wales, cut off by Queensland from th© country, asked to bo relieved of it, and South Australia, with a population of 200,000 at tho other side of the Continent, applied for tho right to administer it. This was granted by the British Government, who, apparently, did not soe the obvious geographical obstacle to administration and development. The fact is, as a epocial commissioner of the

" Sydney Daily Telegraph " points out in an admirable series of articles on the whole question, that th© British Government in 1863 regarded Australia as a drag on tho wheels of Great Britain. The need for colonising tho Territory was not foreseen. The liso of Germany was not thought of; China was still asleep; and Japan was merely a geographical expression, so tho British Government took th© line of least resistance, and handed over to a State which had quite enough to do to manage its own affairs, a country equal to onesixth of the Continent, separated from tlie seat of Government by a thousand miles of sandy" waste. South Australia has don© its best, but the results aro depressing. Exclusive of aborigines, the population of the Territory is 3000, and of theee, two-thirds ato Chinese. Even this population is decreasing rapddly. Tho country is four and a-half times larger than Gre.it Britain, and has been squatted on for over fifty years, yet from the 112,729 squaro miles under stock in 1900 only £54,276 worth of cattl© was exported. The average for tho previous five years was £91,434, so that th© principal industry of tho Territory shows a serious decline. Yet no part of Australia produces better beef; no part has such an unlimited market so easy of access; and no part is, in proportion to its capacity, so inadequately stocked. Paits of it will carry sheep; almost tne whole of it will carry cattlo. The Labour question is, of course, the crux of tho matter. Cattle aro driven from tho Territory to Queensland, and then shipped from Brisbane to the East, when they might be shipped at Port Darwia. But nk» is going to psrt a kigs «n_ al nteaey into • frsesing business ihsr. "whsn a torn of the '"political wheel might at any time "take ths control of it out of nis hands?" White men cannot labour steadily there, and no other labour is available. Th© country, in brief, is dying of inanition, after 44 years of

effort and the expenditure of £3,000,000 by South Australia. The " Daily Telegraph's " commissioner, of course, emphasises the fact that here is c vast unsettled country at the door of races crowded for room.* It is pointed out that a fairly fast boat can steam from Java to Port Darwin in less than four days, and in Java alone, without going further, there are between 20 and 30 millions of people cooped up in an island not one-sixth tho size of the vacant Territory. The "Telegraph" docs not hesitate to describe the danger of alien influx into the Territory aa appalling. The country is quite defenceIces. The defences of Port Darwin, described by Sir William Jervois as "the key of tho East," consist of two obsoloto cannon, one a relic concerning the ago of which tho oldest inhabitant is not certain, end the other a piece of salvago from a wrecked Malay proa. There is not a harbour which could not bo captured by a armed whaleboat, in tho absence of a British warship, and the difficulty of ejecting invaders once they got a footing is obvious. All this constitutes an overwhelming argument for a vigorous policy of development, which can only be carried out properly by the Federal Government. At present tho back-door of Australia is wide open.