been condemned by some usually enlightened and right-thinking English journals, and yet these measures were indispensable means towards the simultaneously advocated end. The misconceptions which arise even in fairly well-informed circles as to occurrences in Australia, and especially as to the aims and results of legislative action, would be amusing were they not provocative of mischievous misunderstandings.
Gentlemen in London who take a prominent part in discussions concerning the Colonies, and so volubly lay down the law, are to be congratulated that the responsibility of the helm is not in their hands; otherwise the course of the ship of State might be brief. The settlement of a huge continent like Australia, where distances are so enormous, presents many novel difficulties. The conditions of soil and climate are, in many cases, unprecedented and peculiar. Many of the regions in which flocks and herds abound are without permanent water. This has to be provided, often at great cost, before successful settlement is possible. In agriculture the recognised system of rotation of crops can be carried out in only a few localities. Methods of forming so successful in other countries have to be unlearnt before a successful start can be made.
The power evinced by Australia of recuperation from the effects of the late prolonged drought is astonishing. In many sheep farms the natural increase in the flocks last year exceeded 100 per cent. The wheat available for export during 1904 was estimated at 40,000,000 bushels, and the imports of wheat from Australia to this country in that year largely exceeded those from Canada. Exempt from the rigour of winter, and with the boon of two springs in each year, Australia has unrivalled advantages for production. As the land of the golden fleece and sheaf she is peerless. The panegyric of Pliny on the British Isles quoted by James Harrington 250 years ago in the 'Commonwealth of Oceana,' applies in many respects to the Colony which has now succeeded to the title.
