VICTORIA, ITS PROGRESS AND PRESENT POSITION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 1467, 4 June 1879, Page 3

VICTORIA, ITS PROGRESS AND PRESENT POSITION.

(From Coleniei and India.) The paper upon the Colony of Victoria, read before the Statistical Society on Tuesday evening laat, by Mr Hayter, the Government statist, was one that, if it did not throw much light upon the present condition of the oountry amongst those who have been attentively wutching it for years, nevertheless formed an admirable digest of information most useful to all who are not thoroughly posted up id Victorian affairs. Mr Hayter's reputation as a statistician stands deservedly so high that a paper prepared by him on hia colony would bo sure to be valuable, and the one read by him on Tuesday was all that could have been expected m nnything like a reasonable compass. Victoria Inis recently attracted so much attention at Home that it was scarcely surprising that many of Mr Hayter's audience would have liked to have heard remarks upon certain points which he touched upon very slightly. At the close of the paper, questions came thick and fast ; and to have replied to them all as fully as the inquirers desired, would have necessitated tbe preparation of a paper many times as long as could be expected to be placed before a learned society at one of its ordinary meetings. That go much information was asked for mutt be taken as a highly gratifying proof of the growing interest m colonial matters, and the tribute of praise awarded on all sides to the Victorian statistic?, and especially to the Year Book issued by Mr Hayter, is another proof of the wiUingness of the Home public now to recognise colonial excellence. As was remarked by more than one, the Victorian statistics of the present day are brought out m a manner that must compare most favorably with those of any country m the world. But, whilst all wejee rcadj to give this meed of commendation, nearly every speaker at the meeting strongly animadverted upon the protectionist policy now followed m Victoria. Mr Shaw-Lefevre, M.P., who presided, Mr Griffen of the Board of Trade, Mr Lionel Cohen, and others, who felt, bound to acknowledge the great progress of Victoria, as stated by Mr Hayter, and proved by his figures, could not refrain from expressing their belief that under a freetrade policy Victoria would lmve advanced far more rapidly than she had done -with the millstone of protection round her neck. Some of the speakers charged Mr Hayter with being a protectionist ; but he pointed out that it whs not his business t> express political fiews, and thut he had carefully abstained from doing so ; and it would certainly be unfair to nccuse him c*f being a protectionist bi cause he pointed out the fart that during tho years that protection has existed m the ooluny the numbpr of manufacturing establishments had increased. The iact cannot be denied ; but it may perhaps be averred, with equal truth, that there would have been a similar, or even probably grea'er, increase h d free trade been m the ascendant. We cannot follow Mr Hayter throughout his paper, but it deserves ta be disseminated widely thr nigh the United Kingdom, as con taining m a small space very complete particulars of a colony Mist no one who is personally ucauainted with can help regarding hb one of the brightest jewels of her Majesty's Crown. Regretting as we do the policy that is being pursued by the Government of the colony, both m respect to protection and on other questions, we have every Confidence m its resources and m tbe energy of the people, and are satisfied that it is destined m the future to hold as pre-eminent a position as it did for many years m the past. Changes of course take place. The yield of gold hat fallen off enormously, but the population is more settled, and branches of industry are constantly being developed, which more than atone for. the diminution m the precious metal. As to its attractiveness, notwithstanding that, unlike the other Australian colonies, it holds out no special inducement to the immigrant, it is impossible to ignore the fact that whilst it only forms a thirty-fourth part of the whole Australian continent, the number of its inhabitants is forty-four per cent of the total. Its revenue, excluding the proceed* of the sale of public lands, is far larger than that of any of tbe other colonies of the group, and yet Kb taxation per head is almost the smallest. Mr Hayter dwelt strongly upon the fact that whereas 70 per cent of the New South Wales revenue, the only one that exceeds the Victorian m the aggregate, was derived from land sales m 1876 and 1877, the proportion iv his colony did not exesed 17 per cent; but he omitted to mention that both the late Government m the older colony as well as the present one have let their faces against the continuance of auoh a pernicious and tuicidal system, and that the reckless and extravagant alienation of the public estate m New South Wales has been put a stop to. As to the trade of the country, it is probably unexampled that a land which less than half a century ago had for inhabitants savages m the most primitive state, should now have imports and exports amounting to. ether to close upon £32,000,000. Of the enterprise of Victoria m the construction of railway and other public works, of its postal and telegraph systems, of its diffufion of education, we need not speak. What it has done m these respectß v well known, and hat been acomplisbed with a view to the future as well as to the present. What is to be the futuae of the colony remains to be seen. The diminution m the yield of gold natnrally tends to lead the inhabitants to turn their attention to other pursuits than the search for gold. The farming and pastoral interests are becoming more thought of ; and, if no unfair as well as unwise excessive burthens are placed upon the proprietors of sheep and cattle stations, improvements m these will undoubtedly add to the prosperity of the country. It was urged on Tuesday evening by several speakers, who apparently only derived their opinions from & knowledge of the results of farming m England, that farming m Victoria could never pay, aa tbe return of wheat to the acre did Lot give half the number of bushels gathered from an acre m England, and not much more than half of what is obtained m New Zealand j but there is another Australian colony — namely, South Australia— that obtains even less to the acre than Victoria, and yet it is one of the finest wheat-producing countries m the world. Professor Pearson, a colleague of Mr Graham Berry m the mission to England, who was present at tha meeting, pointed out the fallacy of supposing that the great heat of the climate was a bar to the growth of wheat, showing how", m the face of all prognostications to the contrary, even from those sopposed to be most capable of judging, the cultivation .of wheat m South Australia fu gradually spreading northwards, and splendid crops were being reaped on land that was a few years ago thought to be almost worthies*. What has happened m South Australia may alto be looked for m Victoria;' 'tfotwith-

slanting the B mail extent of its territory, wl.en compared with the otner Australian colonies, it must b« remembered that it is within a few hundred squire miles of being us large as Great Britain. It possesies considerable variety of climate, its resources are magnificent, and if the majority of its population has for a time decided upon carrying out a system be'ieved m this country to be wott injurious, we have every hops that ere long the error will be recognised and there will I c a return to that Free Trad .> which Profe«sor Pearson told hia hearers on Tuesday evening he was still an adh-rent of, though acting with the party which is doing all it can to promote Protection. When that comes to pass, we firmly be'ieve that the progress of Victoria, great as Mr Hayter's pap»r showß i it to have been, will be even still more remarkable. . .