for their stock. It was a prosperity which gladdened many a heart inured to disappointment.
The revenue was a source of congratulation and its increase a suggestion of how the convict system benefited the colony. In 1850 the revenue was £11,722; in 1860 it was £43,399. The revenue in 1840 was only £7,592! The annual revenue returns from 1854 to 1860 were:—1854, £27,898; 1855, £26,742; 1856, £34,879; 1857, £25,234; 1858, £35,674; 1859, £38,751; and in 1860, £43,399. The expenditure, including the receipts in aid from the Imperial Treasury within the same period, was:—In 1854, £45,171; 1855, £49,240; 1856, £41,257; 1857, £45,002; 1858, £47,714; 1859, £54,918; and 1860, £61,744. The imports give an indication of the business of the storekeeper:—1854, £128,259; 1855, £105,319; 1856, £122,938; 1857, £94,531; 1858, £144,931; 1859, £125,315; and 1860, £169,074.
The annual Imperial expenditure on the convict system was comparatively enormous. For the twenty-one years prior to the introduction of convicts, says an official record, the total Imperial expenditure was £375,264; for the ten years after the arrival of the first band the total was £905,971—an average of £90,597 per annum, or an increase of over 400 per cent. Of this amount £450,000 went for pay and allowances, and £250,000 for provisions produced in the colony.
Signs of the altered conditions were plainly presented throughout the colony. New and substantial buildings, roads, bridges, jetties, farmhouses, with wider fields under crop, and more sheep, cattle, and horses, were to be observed in all the settled parts; while people, buildings, and stock were pushed out beyond the older settlements. In 1854 the number of acres under crop was 11,979, and in 1860, 24,705. In 1854 stock was represented by 173,243 sheep, 20,277 cattle, and 4,676 horses, and in 1860 by 260,136 sheep, 32,476 cattle, and 9,555 horses. From time to time congratulations were published from every side, and complaints diminished in volume and intensity. Prices were maintained, and even rose on occasion abnormally high. The crop of wheat in 1853-4 was small owing to insufficient rain in 1853. Several farmers were so short that they applied to the Government for seed. In June, 1854, wheat was quoted at 12s. a bushel and barley at 7s 6d. In the same year, also, the Northam and Toodyay Agricultural and Horticultural Society suggested that the Government should employ ticket-of-leave men in clearing agricultural land to grow breadstuffs sufficient for local consumption without having recourse to importation of wheat and flour. No doubt if the Government had taken the step an angry cry would have arisen from every farmer against the State competing with private enterprise. The society further suggested that a bonus be given to those pensioners and ticket-of-leave men who cleared and brought under cultivation the largest area of land, and that annual fairs and shows be held. They hoped that producers throughout the eastern districts would unite in promoting agricultural interests. The York Agricultural Society chronicled that cultivated fields in the York district had been broadened by 1,575 acres during the year 1854. Vasse people announced with gladness that potatoes were being produced there with splendid results and that the direct export of those vegetables to eastern colonies was increasing. Potatoes had been annually exported since 1843, and during the years succeeding 1854 good news of the suitability of local soil for their culture was constantly coming to hand. Up to 1860 the value of potatoes and other vegetables (mostly potatoes) exported was £11,858. The export in 1859 amounted to £2,756. In addition, large quantities were now being consumed locally, the Convict Establishment taking the main proportion.
Colonial wine was coming into favour, and newspapers and societies frequently adverted to its excellent qualities. The acreage under vines was slightly increased, but no wine was exported from 1854 to 1860. A Horticultural Society was formed in Perth in 1855, and a Show was held in that and following years. At the Show of 1856 Mr. Clifton, who delivered the opening oration, said that the fruits and vegetables exhibited were equal to any shown in Covent Garden. York residents formed a Horticultural Society in 1855-6, and held annual shows for some time. The Chamber of Commerce in Perth and the Agricultural Society of Northam and Toodyay offered prizes for the best essay on vine-growing.
The Northam and Toodyay Agricultural and Horticultural Society had become a very active and useful body. In 1855 it comprised 76 members, among whom were Victoria Plains residents. In that year the name was altered to the Northam, Toodyay, and Victoria Plains Agricultural and Horticultural Society. Through the agency of this institution the districts mentioned were vastly improved and their interests in the colony were upheld with all the ardour of an animated political body. The York Agricultural Society acquired new vitality by reason of the better times, and as representative of the chief producing district its views were heard with consideration, and its deliberations were deemed important. Like its contemporary of Northam, Toodyay, and Victoria Plains, it presented a large prize list at annual shows. The amount in 1855 was £120; the principal prize in that year was £50 for the best stallion cart-horse imported from England. The exportation of horses was proving a large source of revenue, and shipments were sent to India almost every year. From 1844 to 1853 horses valued at £4,478 were exported. Nothing was done in this trade in 1854, but in 1855 and following years large returns were received. In 1858 some 401 horses, valued at £14,035, were exported. The total export from 1855 to 1860 was 708 animals, representing £22,993. The York Society had excellent grounds, therefore, for encouraging the introduction of the best strains of horses. Mr. Phillips, of Culham, was obtaining a splendid race, and Mr. Princep, at Dardanup, was also devoting considerable capital to the industry. The Western Australian witnesses before the Committee of the House of Lords on Convicts in 1856 all referred to this trade with jubilation, and ex-Governor Fitzgerald glowingly described the merits of Western Australian animals.
Mr. Drummond, at Toodyay, and Mr. J. H. Monger, at York, with foresight and worthy enterprise, subdivided portions of their land, and in 1853-4 let them to ticket-of-leave and conditional pardon men and free immigrants. The men, pleased with the opportunity afforded them, vigorously proceeded to cut down timber and bush, and break the land. In 1855 they had little plots planted. Mr. Monger reported to the York Agricultural Society in 1856 that the convicts had done splendid work. One man had thirty acres in wheat and barley, a small vegetable garden, pigs, and poultry. Mr. Clarkson, at Toodyay, and Mr. Padbury, at Greenough, also subdivided agricultural land on the same principle. The action of these and other gentlemen in encouraging thrift among convicts was commendable; it was not only valuable in helping bondmen, but caused more land to be brought under cultivation.
But of industries which expanded most during the convict
