AUSTRALIA TO-DAY

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14930, 1 March 1912, Page 4

AUSTRALIA TO-DAY

.. ,r * •'■■■ • •' #F-\ J&V i [FROM OUR OWN* CORRESrONDEJfT.] -i ' , Sydney, February 24, i ; ' The'* Mother Statu. Tin; publication of tho vital statistics lor New, South Wales for the year 19U that the Mother State of Australia i* ■ ' forging ahead at a rate teTwiSjgjl that of any of the other States. . Gradu ally tho population of New South Walej is approaching the 2,000,000 mark. The - population at ' the ml of the. year '*»» 1,093,391, or a little over 300,000 -short- " of tho two millions. T'lio city of Sydney , has a population of close on 700 000 Thero was recently .started a Million Club ' in Sydney—an idea " borrowed " from V America, where every city and . .cv»rv town ' are doing'their, best to increasa • their population— it has not " caught' on" to any largo extent. People generally incline to tho belief that ' Sydney i; « quite big enough as it if,, in property ' to the population of the whole of tW State. A Two Million Club, having 0 « its object tho increasing of the population of tho State generally, and : more particularly in the country districts, would pro- ' bably receive far larger support. During 1 1 1911 there was an increase of 55,3133 in tho population, or 3.4 per cent,, and it ia gratifying to learn that of this increased 50,521 was duo to excess of births ■ over■ deaths, the largest number on record' while the excess of arrivals over depart lures came to 24,862. This also, with the exception of one year (1883, when the gain from immigration was 27,278), was « record. There was a net gain of 27,117 from countries outside the Commonwealth, and a loss of 2201 to other Australian States. A total of 15,558 came from tha United Kingdom.' It will interest ■ New, : , Zealanders to know (though it will notjfft please them, perhaps), that ITew ' South " - Wales gained 8339 people • from tho Dominion during the year, and further, that 8473 persons crossed over the Queens- 5 land border into New ' South Wale's. Thus ■ latter fact would seem to show that them . are better prospects) in the Mother Stats ; \ than in. Queensland, to which ' State so many New Zealanders have bean making their way. Adding to the total number of Now Zealanders who hare come to Ne*[ South Wales to - settle during • the ' pai& - year those who have gone to Queensland, it will be seen that , the Dominion is con. tributing greatly to the growth of popu< lation in Australia. The marriage rate' is the highest for many ■ years, tho birth rate is the highest for 15 years, ?nd tho death rate is the. , lowest, with four exceptions. There isv ' every prospect that the immigration.' ' figures tor 1912 will largely exceed thosa' ■ for last year, and probably the population" l .' I of New •, South Wales v \vM nmbeu v 2,000,000 inside five years. A Motorist on New Zealand. r " A\T ■ . ~ . j ' ' A Mr. Ashburton, an English motorist, '' who recently visited Australia, and aim#/*? * then has been touring, New Zealand, writes to a Sydney paper, giving sobs account of his experiences in the Do-: ' minion ■ £ Sir. Ashburtbri. is sarcastic and amusii ;. "New Zealand," says he, "is:;, a con ;ry that makes me laugh from early morning until I fail asleep at midnight. Auckland, with its lulls and dales, is , ' fearfully wearisome, and it seems little £- wonder that ; hotel proprietors declare theyft are all nearly on the verge of bankruptcy,' • owing to-the immense quantities of food ; r which their customers- consume. '.There: " are no snakes in Auckland, and one would \, "be inclined to mis® them did he not find in his morning porridge numerous little white ants. These, the hotel proprietors 1 §1 : declare, are most, J wholesome, and rave a distinct flavour, as do tho " little beetles. which one often meets in each spoonful • of soup ( supplied. Motors are in demand' in Auckland, but owing to the steep hills, all- are■ low-geared, and consequently ' un- 1 suitable when, a tour into the country is „ taken. Wellington, which I visited "after a tour' through Taranaki, via Napier, is 1 a':. very . windy . town, resembling - Capetown,% with its overhanging hills. ' Tho town is full of curio shops, where imitation green- '; stone axes, gods, and ornaments are-exit'-posed for sale at fabulous prices. Tha motoring trade in Wellington is not very; brisk. The people seem too afraid to rent t ture far from home, lest their clothes get (' blown off them. _ Ch'riefcchurch,, lying ittVr," flat land, is the. city of high-geared motor< , ears. ( There are no hills there, and cars, - j can bo sold easily, owing to'the- fact that h ' J any vehicle may be started off the top ! and kept hi that gear all day. -Tha'V ; j similarity o;f tho various streets, which all ,' f , run parallo to each other, grates on a visitor's nerves, as do the , excessively! \ ■ heavy charges for everything in the way, of motor requisites. Dunedin is a nice» little town, where everybody ' speaks Scotch. It takes some time to get amis-.- ' tomed to the rolling "r's" and bad ! whisky. Almost every man. in the town;j drinks whisky to excess, and if he asks -. . j you for a '"drap,' as "he puts ! it-,'tha■ I Scotchman V generally s brings about at j dozen friends with him. This -fairly exj pensive to the visitor. ' The cars ;in Dun-. I edin, as in Auckland, are low-geared, and "' . , J of the American rvnabout typo, owing to - \ the rough and hilly roads." So much for the cities in particular; now for New Zea-i ♦. land and New Zealanders in general:—. " WV' V disgusted me" was the bragging.of.-;' ; aln:c, vervone I met about: bow they 1 . : -saved. Great-Britain in the Boer war, and how they almost paralysed• Germany when ' they presented the Mother Country'- with . '' a Dreadnought. The general impression in the Dominion is that Australia is a]i I miserable, half-hearted sort of place,,'; , where only those who hope for a title , • will spend a few hundred for the sake of Empire. Australia- they say, is ridi J f >\ ing for a fall." ' >' Australia for the Australians. ~ ; " The Federal Government' has just ap«": pointed / Professor Gilruth, of - veterinary, : : fame, who 'came over from. New Zealand "J" a few years ago, and, has since been attached to the Melbourne University, to a,, lucrative post in the Northern Territory* v , j Professor Gilruth is a man of individin; j ality, and has impressed all who have., come in , con tact with him. He has raada,;; i many ' friends in Australia, and he has / I been widely congratulated on his appoint-" - - ! ment as administrator of the Northern - I Territory. But there is a narrow-minded section of the people who hold the view •. | that all Australian appointments should | be given to Australians, and none should be given to people who come over from New Zealand or other foreign parts. Profeasor Gilruth's appointment has greatly : ( angered the Young Australian party, whose ~ headquarters are in Sydney, and the pre sident (Mr. ,T.. B. Steel) has written a V'V, strong letter of protest to the Prime •Miiu9*,ys';;^ l ter (Mr. Fisher). Mr. Steel says lie makes, his protest not on personal, but on K national, grounds, as his party holds that /,y all.' appointments in Australia should go ; '■ toVAustralians alone. "We desire a strong national, unified Government." lie *- « writes. ," We have not got it. We desire 'J, | ;;gl our .country protected, by a strong amy; and j navy. ■ You cannot give them ,to us, v.* ,$L because 'your"heart is not in the work, because your allegiance is divided. "'We { Australians are tired of ; being insulted by , the appointment of practically foreigners to the high offices of the Commonwealth,' every one of whom ; Licks the first essen- \ . r: tial of true administratorship—love and i honour of his native land. ..You are ani goring the people. We (shall remembe* j , the insults, and when out day dawns we h shall remover.every administrator, 7 every, |„,; £ Governor, and every representative from ' office, unless .he be Australian born, and •:provide;:- that no imported man shall ever hold such offices again. ."-Do' not'-, appoint:'j-jK.; foreigners, and all will be' well. v Anger ii >, and Andrew Fisher, the Scotchman, } playing with Australians and Australia, , will feel our might. Give Gilruth some , > other billet.