PROGRESS IN AUSTRALIA

Southland Times, Issue 23816, 13 May 1939, Page 14

PROGRESS IN AUSTRALIA

Politics, Culture And Economics I SOME AUSTRALIANS TAKE STOCK. Edited by J. C. G. Kevin. Longmans Green & Co., London. Price 8/6 net. This admirable survey of political and cultural tendencies in Australia has been written by a number of graduates from English and Australian universities. They deal lucidly and objectively with aspects of contemporary life in the Commonwealth. Only one chapter, “Botany Bay” by L. R. Mclntyre, is historical. Within the limits of 32 pages is compressed an unusually concise account of a colonizing process that must have had many pitfalls in its opportunities for digression. Indeed, a noticeable feature of the entire book is the way in which relevant facts have been selected. Without indulging in statistical extravagance the authors have succeeded in conveying a sense of social development in Australia. W. E. H. Stanner describes the plight of the aborigines and makes it clear that these unfortunate people have almost as much to fear from their friends as from public apathy. “As it stands Australian native policy and administraItion is a curious mixture of high intentions and laudable objectives, loosely formulated in vague principles; almost unbelievably mean finances and extremely bad local administration and an obstinate concentration on lines of policy which 150 years of experience have made suspect.” In dealing with “Blanks on the Map,” Clunies Ross draws on authoritative opinion to explode the fallacy that Australia has large neglected areas of land which might be made productive by an enterprising people. His conclusion is that “at least 60 per cent, of Australia is and will remain as useless or sparse pastoral country, carrying at best a negligible White population.” He suggests that the estimate of Griffith Taylor of an eventual maximum population of 20,000,000, “consequent on the fullest complementary development of both agricultural and industrial potentialities, may be accepted as being more soundly and conservatively based than any other.” AUSTRALIAN SPEECH In one of the most interesting chapters in the book, entitled “Accent,” T. S. Dorsch examines the question of Australian speech and succeeds in combining technical knowledge with a surprising amount of popular appeal. He believes that Australian speech is predominantly palatal, “spoken well forward in the mouth, with a flattened tongue, and making use of the hard palate in the production of its sounds, vowels as well as consonants.” Because front sounds are less resonant than back sounds this contributes to the thinness of the Australian voice. (These facts seem to apply with equal truth to New Zealand speech.) He admits the inevitability of local development in the speech of a community isolated in its early years, although he finds it hard to explain the rapidity with which the differences, have become standardized. He rejects the influence of climate as a feasible explanation, and quotes physiological authority to support the claim that there are “no measurable differences between the vocal machinery of Australians and Europeans.” But he thinks that climate may be a contributing factor to the slipshod nature? of Australian speech. The> remaining sections are of an equally high standard. R. W. G. Mackay gives a clear account of the political scene; Frederic Benham discusses the problems of trade; J. V. Connolly is interesting on the “The Export of Talent”; J. C. G. Kevin contributes a timely chapter on foreign policy; and Allan G. B. Fisher deals sensibly with migration. This book has the double advantage of factual exactness and progressive opinion. It should be read by everyone who wishes to gain reliable information of the Australian continent and its people.