Evening Post. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1900.

Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 104, 30 October 1900, Page 4

Evening Post. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1900.

THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA. 4 The downing day df the" itew century" will witness .th.o birth of a new. nation in these Southern Sea's, and the celebration of the event 4& to be on a scale qf grandeur worthy. of the British Empire and of its 'vigorous daughter nation. To realise the potentialities for growth and expansion which are contained in the Commonwealth of Australasia it is necessary to pass- in review the progress- of the past. The latest number dealing with tha statistics of the "Seven Colonies of Australasia" compiled annually by Mr. T. A. Coghlan, the Government Statistician of New South Wales, and just to hand, enables a retrospective glance to be taken. In the decade now nearingi its close a disastrous drought has pervaded Australia, but in spite of this, there- has been substantial progress, and the prosperity has been experienced by New Zealand has been shared by our friends across the water. The Commonwealth will start with a population of close upon 4,000,000, nearly all white. In 1881 the population of the six States of the Commonwealth was 2,245,448, and increased to. 3,159,080 in 1891, and at the close of last year stood at 3,726,480. If Mr. Seddon succeeds, with his Island Empire- delirium, he will federate a population of about 1,250,000, mostly coloured, of diverse creeds and languages, with scarcely a single sentiment in common, and lacking in all the essentials that go to make a nation. Why New Zealand should voluntarily assume the role of nurse to the black baby, when the baby is already 'secure and comfortable under the care of the British Government and the coming protection of the Commonwealth of Australia is a mystery. The revenue of the Commonwealth in 1881 stood at £16,591,547, and in 1899-90 it was £28,685,314, a. splendid expansion in eighteen years j the public debt has also grown, and. .perhaps in ty greater ratio than the population. The debt of the 'six Sbates totalled £66,306,471 in 1881, and by the 30bh June last had increased to the huge sum of £195,381,344. The interest on the debt does not exhibit a relative increase, as the average interest in 1881 was much higher than it is now. A further saving in interest will be effected by the Commomrealth Government, which will be able w> borrow at a cheaper rate than the individual Stages. A large proportion of the sum represented by the public has been spent in railways, and the statistics show that the net profit of the railways in 1881 was £1,685,220, while in 1899 it had grown to £3,970,390, sufficient to pay interest at 3 per cent, on a capital of £135,676,000. The value qi the output of the various mines of the- Commonwealth was in 1881, £9,789,000, while in 1899 it had risen to £22,201,000, the output of gold alone being responsible for £14,661,000. The land cultivated in 1881 amouated to 4,489,607 acres, while last year the total reached 8,670,788. The area devoted' to wheat in 1881 was 3,002,064 acres, and the total yieM was21,443,862 bushels, last season 5,614,367 acres were sown in wheat and the yield was 39,998,295 bushels. The production of hay in-the past season amounted to '1,597,453 tons, while \in 1891 it was 1,060,417 tons, there being no statistics available in 1881. The output of potatoes in 1881 was 242,872 tons, and in 1899 it was 407451 tons. The exports of domestic produce have grown from £32,545,801 in 1881 to ,£58,4Q9,935. It is very likely that some allowance must be , made in these figures, as apparently tho inter-State exports are included in the total, which would not be the case under tho Commonwealth.^ Australia is essentially pastoral, and the live stock statistics are interesting. In 1881 the six States owned 65,078,341 sheep ; in 1891 the number had increased to 106,419,761, but .owing to the severity of the drought during the past three or four years the number has since shrunk to 74,296,806. Tho wool clip of 1881 was worth £13,396,207, and last season's clip was valued at £19,164,355. The number of cattle owned in 1881 was 8,010,991 ; in 1891 the number had increased to 11,029,4-99, since decreasing to 9,838,626. Queensland has suffered severely in the loss of cattle, and the drought which still prevails continues to cause havoc among the herds. The material wealth of the people has

increased, and, measured by the accumulations in the Savings Banks, the progress has been very decided. The deposits in 1881 totalled £7,893^64, increasing to £15,536,592 in 1891, and to £27,993,337 in 1899. Other figures, &ugh as those relating to , banking, post and telegraphs, and shipping, all tell the same tale of steady and satisfactory expansion. Obviously there is a magnificent future beforo tlie Commonwealth of Australia.' Freed from the parochialism of the State, with greater freedom • and greater facilities, loftier aspirations, and the natural vigour of the race, the growth of the next twenty years should be far greater than- that of the years gone by. New Zealand statesmen have assured us. that it would be sacrificing our interests, and trifling with our destiny to enter the bond of union with white Australia. We have been assured that our aspirations and even our sentiments were at variance with those of our kin across the water, but above all we were told that the 1200 miles of ocean which separated us from Australia was the insuperable obstacle to New Zealand joining the Commonwealth. Tho people accepted these assurances, which wo doubt not were mad>ei in good faith, hxit the same people are now being told that it is desirable if not necessary that New Zealand should link itself with scattered islands- in the Pacific lying at far greater distances from us than Australia, island's peopled mostly by Kanakas, and other semi-savage and indolent tribes, without any trade worthy of the name, and with scarcely any prospect of yielding- us a market worth developing. All the arguments used to prevent 'jtfew Zealand federating with Australia apply with greater force and with more truth to this' Island Empire. If New Zealand nvust federate, then, white Australia 'is the move desirable partner than the Fijian or the Kanaka.