CHAPTER III. EVIDENCE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF NEW SOUTH WALES IN A PECUNIARY POINT OF VIEW. EVERY thing exists or can be produced in the colony, to make it a great commercial country, while its splendid position, its extensive coast, its multitude of magnificent harbours, and its adaptation to extensive railroads, give it a superiority, in a commercial point of view, not equalled on the earth : "In fact, the real agricultural and horticultural resources of New South Wales have never yet been developed, there having been little or no inducement to do so, beyond the mere supply of the pastoral occupants; but when these capabilities are fairly brought into operation in such a productive climate and soil, the prospects of the future and increasing prosperity of the colony, are magnificent and boundless."-M'ARTHUR. "With every variety of climate, and every variety of soil, the colony requires only a numerous and industrious population to enable it to produce in abundance, whatever is requisite for the sustenance and the comfort of man. Enterprise, of which there is at this moment no lack in the colony, will, in due time, discover a thousand new channels for the profitable outlay of capital, and for the acquisition of wealth."-DR. LANG. "A country possessing so many resources, and occupying one of the most commanding positions on the globe, cannot but exercise a powerful influence upon the destinies of mankind. The convicts will, in some respects, have performed their proper part in the system of colonization, by having cleared away many of the most formidable obstacles incidental to a first settlement. They will have acted as the pioneers for colonists of a better order; the tide of healthy and virtuous emigration, will impart a new principle of existence; under its renovating influence, fresh resources, moral as well as physical, will be rapidly developed."-M'ARTHUR. The grand staple of New South Wales at present is wool :--"There is no instance on record of such progress of a country in wealth, as that which has resulted to New South Wales, from the produce of its flocks. It was, we believe, in the year 1812, that Mr. John M'Arthur had consigned to him a number of merino sheep. By a singular coincidence, these were conveyed out by the ship 'Argo,' and the consequences that have followed, seem to have realized the fable of the golden fleece, for such has been the rapid increase in the exports of fine wool, the produce of these flocks, that from 99,415lbs. imported in 1820, the quantity last year had increased to 7,060,525lbs."-MORNING CHRONICLE, 5th OCTOBER. RETURN of the Quantity of Sheep's Wool shipped from New South Wales during the Years 1807 to 1836. -which, at 2s. per pound, would give £706,052 5s."-MARTIN. There are now upwards of forty sail of ships employed in the whale fishing from Sydney, and the number is constantly increasing; their tonnage amounts to nearly ten thousand. Such is the trade to the colony, that twelve sail are at this instant loading for Sydney, in London alone. At this moment, thirty-three sail of large ships are advertized in Great Britain for East Australia or New South Wales, five for South, and one for West Australia. In the month of January last, 1913 emigrants arrived from this country in Sydney alone, more than were landed in the South Colony the whole of last year. There is a considerable and increasing trade between Sydney and the United States, in wool, &c. :— "The affairs of the different banks and insurance companies at Sydney, show the rate of half-yearly dividends, viz.-from 7 to 10 per cent., or 15 to 21 per cent. per annum.” *Where the weight is greater in preceding, than in subsequent years, it does not arise from a cessation of increase in the weight shorn, but from variation in the time of shipment. ABSTRACT of the Produce of the Revenue of the Colony of New South Wales, in the Years ending 31st December, 1827, and 31st December, 1837, respectively-showing the Increase and Decrease under each head thereof. Of the Effects of deceased Convicts.. Of Property found in the possession of convicted Felons Of surplus Provisions and Stores landed from Emigrant Collections by the Agent for the Estates of the late Church Rents of Gardens, Mills, and Government Premises. ... 0 06 203 9 0 5595 19 5 682 18 113 4820 3 11 66 0 0 75 0 0 31 5 0 4025 0 0 10834 0 0 1733 19 7 4023 4 3 1615 17 8 6800 5 5 255 3 9 1208 10 10 39 1 0 1095 2 0 2436 1 53 331 19 21 1185 1 3 786 10 20 "In April 1788, three months after the formation of the settlement, the whole of the live stock in the colony consisted of 1 stallion, 3 mares, 3 colts, 2 bulls, 5 cows, 29 sheep, 19 goats, 49 hogs, 25 pigs, 5 rabbits, 18 turkies, 29 geese, 35 ducks, 142 fowls, and 87 chickens-what a contrast to the present state of the colony! "It is not possible to state with exactness the quantity of grain raised, but its prices since the great drought in 1828, are thus shown:— Flour Flour Years. Wheat. first second Maize. Barley Oats. Hay. Straw. 1828 per quality quality per per per per per per bushel. peck. peck. bushel. bushel. bushel. ton. s. d. s. d. s. d. 7 9 1829 6 6 22 0 18 6 1834 10 0 in loads. S. d. s. d. s. d. 8 0 4 0 3 6 0 5 0 S. s. d. 200 35 0 60 20 0 Timber, particularly cedar plank, has been for some time exported. Coals, also, will prove a valuable staple of the colony. The trade of the colony has, like every thing else, increased in a surprising degree; its value for the the last few years is thus shown: *For increase since Mr. Martin's returns, see Appendix. Swine. Imports-Value in Sterling Money. Exports-Value in Sterling Money. Years. From From From Total Το To To Total Great British Foreign value of Great British Foreign value of 1825 250000 20000 30000 30000 77235 535 1138 78908 1827 253975 63220 45129362324 70507 4926 831 76314 1829 423463 135486 42055601004146283 12692 2741 161761 1831 241989 68804 179359 190152211138 60354 52676 324168 1832 409344 47895 147381 604620 252106 63934 68384 381344 1833 434220 61662|218090713272|269508 67344 | 57949 394801 The imports of the colony consist chiefly of British property. Of £602,032 worth imported in the year ending January, 1833, £409,344 was from the United Kingdom: the large items being-woollens, stationery and books, spirits, linens, iron, hardware, hats, caps and bonnets, haberdashery, &c. The increase since is very great. (See Appendix.) "The most valuable mineral yet worked in New South Wales is coal, which is found in several districts, but especially in the country to the south of Hunter's River, which is an extensive coal field."-M. MARTIN. "We shall better understand this indication of Australian advancement by looking back to our finances of some few years ago,-say seven. We find that the revenue of 1829-that is, for the entire year-was £96,621, being only £5,667 above that of the last three months! And if, for the sake of comparison, we take the last quarter's revenue at its yearly rate, we shall have a year's income of £363,816, or an increase on that of the year 1829, of no less than £267,195!! "After this, we surely need say no more to prove that the bright side of our picture has not been overcharged. Our assertions may be questioned; our notions of our own improvements in regard to buildings, and general luxuries, may be thought tinctured with juvenile vanity; but our public accounts, our official ledger, are beyond suspicion; they will command unhesitating belief, and will enable sensible people to judge for themselves how we are getting on in this great South Land,'— no longer the terra incognita of the globe."-M'ARTHUR. 6 "It would be difficult to find a parallel to such a state of things in the history of the world."-DR. LANG. "The preceding statements (to use the words of Mr. Martin, in his History of Australasia) sufficiently demonstrate how rapid |