AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15234, 22 February 1913, Page 9

AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

FIVE MILLION PEOPLE. EMPTY SPACES TO BE FILLED. [FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT,] Stujtey, February 15. Australia "-is' approaching the 5,000,000 mark. This lias been a long time coming, but it. will be hero soon, even if it has not already arrived. According to some estimates, the population of the Commonwealth was 4,913,807 in the first quarter of 1912, and somo of the statisticians consider that the 5,000,000 th Australian is just about due. The Commonwealth statistician's office, however, claims that he (or she) will not arrive till tho end of this year. They have some railway figures to deal with before getting out their population estimates for December 31, 1912, but they express the view that the population at the end of the , year was not much above 4,850,000. Meantime it is interesting to note that, in New South Wales at all events, there has latterly been a notable increase in marriages and births. Immigration has also been helping to swell the total. Mr. McGowen, tho State Premier, is fond of stating that " the Australian baby is Australia's best immigrant," and I suppose we all agree on that point, but in making up the 5,000,000 they all count. Considering the great size of Australia and her' immense undeveloped resources, her population is ridiculously small. She has, it is true, nearly five times tho population of ."New Zealand, but when a true comparison is made New Zealand is tho better off, for it would, take many more than five New Zealands to cover the map of Australia. And, moreover, the bulk of tho population in the Commonwealth is in the cities, chiefly in Sydney and Melbourne. It is only tho fringe of the Continent, practically speaking, that is populated. The position in New Zealand is infinitely better. There are many in us country who think there are too many people hero already— deluded folk who think that the more people there are to draw wages the less money there will be for each. And so, whilst tho Millions Club will probably hold a banquet to celebrate tho event and the newspapers will write long leading articles about it, some will see in the. passing of the 5,000,000 mark an occasion for much tribulation and a, need fox sending more circulars to the United Kingdom to warn workers against emigrating to this already overcrowded land! " Encumbrances." Under tho above heading the Sydney Morning Herald draws attention to the case of an immigrant named Charles Tomlinson, who arrival here about a month ago with his wife and Ihree children, and who has been unable to obtain employment. It would almost seem true that there is no room in this empty continent for any more people! Tomlinson's three children are "encumbrances." Without them he could get work, but with them he cannotor has hewn unable to do so up to the present. The passage money cost him £54, arid now his money has almost run out. He is of fine physique and has had practical experience of rough country and farm work. He has tried the Government Immigration Department, the Labour Bureau, and the British Emigration League, but they have been unable to''do'anything for him because he has three children. He has also tried tho. employment agencies, with the same result., for the same reason. As usual, when public attention is drawn to this sort of thing, the Government 1 Immigration Department officials rush forward with their explanations. Tomlinson, it appears, was not an "assisted" immigrant, and so the Government did not seem bound to render him assistance. ■He paid the fares of himself and family to-Australia, and ..for. doing that he ,is penalised ,"... A man who only pay."; portion of his fare and has the rest paid by the Government is taken in hand as soon as he arrives and has a, billet found for him. Itjs an absurd position. Kinkel Coins. The Prime Minister (Mr. Fisher) has authorised an important reform in Australian currency, viz., that copper coins shall ha superseded by nickel coins. So the old copper pennies and half-pennies are to go, and we are to have the nickel, as in America and India. In the United States one sometimes hears an American call a " nickel" a penny, though its value there is equivalent to about in English money. In size the new penny in Australia will he slightly larger than a sixpence and the halfpenny rather larger than the threepennybit. The nickel "coinage of America and India has about 75 per cent, of copper in it, and it is proposed to adopt this standard for Australia- It will be more expensive to produce than the old copper coins, but a profit will still remain to the Treasury. Another _ important currency chango "is to come into operation, next month— issue of the new 10s notes. A great popularity is expected for these notes. Tho Government note printer has imported a Hoe printing machine, and by April will be printing 14.000 Australian notes a day. About 5.000.000 paper notes, representing nearly £10.000,000, are to be printed in addition to the new 10s issue. The new issue, composed of designs declared by London experts to he the-finest banknote designs in the world, will! take the place of the old, which will be gradually called iu through the banks. The Commonwealth Bank, by the way, is making considerable headway. Man who Wanted a Billet. There is candour, at all events, in the somewhat startling affidavit that has been made bv G. L. .Prendergast,' late secretary of tho Tramway Employees' Association of Australia, which has not been a, particularly happy bodv for some time past. Prendcrgast states that ho joined the tramway service as a conductor, with the special object of initiating an association of the employees and creating a dispute. Also, he say's that, being unemployed, he saw an excellent chance of organising tho tramway men so as to get, a good billet for himself. There was no dispute before he joined the service, but he seems to have succeeded tolerablv well in creating ono or two. Since his coming into the tramway world there have been numerous disputes, small and large, and if any man ought to have been happy that man was Prenderf;ast. It takes" all sorts to make a world, and the walking delegate and the labour agitator will doubtless be with us for some time to come. But if there is anything which is calculated to destroy good union men's faith in their leaders St ought to be this candid confession of Mr. G. L. Prendergast, recently mado bv affidavit m Victoria. He wanted a good billet for himself, and he got it. He was an agitator, a talker, and" he talked himself into the position of secretary of the Tramway Employees' Association of Australia. Perhaps lie ought to have stopped talking when he got the billet, but he" went on talking and fomenting trouble. He marshalled his forces well • he proved a. good organiser: he created his beloved dispute— then " good, easv man. when his greatness was a-'ripenin-'." he fell with a bump. It, was seen that Mr. Prendergast's chief concern was Mr. Prendergast, and not the tramway employees whom be professed to love so much ' Mr. Prendergast should write a book on " How to get a Billet when Unemployed." __________„__