BENEFIT SOCIETY.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 11, 21 May 1842, Page 43

BENEFIT SOCIETY.

On Wednesday evening ;i public meeting was held, at which the committee appointed t'opfraw up the regulations of the Benefit Society made their report ; after which the regulations were read and adopted, with one alteration as to the mode of electing the surgeon ; and the directors sat, after the meeting, for the purpose of enrolling members. We hope that this association will meet with the encouragement it deserves. Certain w^ are that the tendency of such combinations is to produce a happier and more independent labouring population than can exist without them.

We regret to announce that Mr. S. S. White, of the firm of Patchett and White, of this place, died on Tuesday last. He was buried yesterday in the Haven Cemetery : the service was performed by the Rev. J. Saxton, and a large portion of the most respectable inhabitants attended the funeral.

- The following extract contains so just a view of the resources of Australia, and of the probable future relations between New South Wales and New Zealand, that we call the especial attention of our readers to it. It is not, however, grain alone with which we shall supply the markets of the neighbouring colony < when steam navigation is once established in these seas, we shall doubtless supply them with all sorts of vegetable produce for the table ; and we should not be surprised if, some years hence, the Australian shambles were to receive cattle fattened by Swedes and mangelwurzel grown in New Zealand :—: — ' " Capabilities of Australia. — The same circumstances of climate which render the island of New Holland so admirably adapted for pasturage, make it extremely ill fitted for agriculture. The severe and long- continued droughts, which are of such frequent occurrence, combined with the copious evaporation occasioned by a generally high temperature and a clear sky, render failures of crops very frequent even on the richest of soils. In some few situations near the coast, where showers of rain are pretty frequent, agriculture succeeds. Elsewhere it is found unprofitable as an occupation, and may be abandoned, except in those cases where it is kept completely subordinate to grazing. Those extra hands which, at certain seasons of the year, are required for the management of sheep, though not required at other times, and which in Buch a country as New South Wales must be retained in employment during the whole year, mny often be advantageously employed in agricultural operations at those times when the sheep do not require their services. It is in this way alone that agriculture can be carried on in most parts of the colony. Notwithstanding the great encouragement which this branch of industry has received from the Government, and notwithstanding the predilection of a number of the settlers for this pursuit, the produce of grain, i taking one year with another, has been quite inadequate to supply the wants of the colony, and large importations have often been found necessary. These have been brought from Van Diemen's Land, South America, and India, and •even from the United States. It is likely that in a few years the principal supply will be derived from the islands of New Zealand, where the soil and climate are well fitted for the production of grain. Australia, then, is essentially a pastoral country, and as such' only can it be favourably known to the present generation. ' Whatevtr other branches of industry may hereafter be cultivated, and whatever other sources of wealth may hereafter be opened, it is quite clear that her capabilities as a pastoral country ought firet to be developed. A very promising beginning has already been made, which -qnly requires the fostering hand of a good government to lead to the happiest results ; to produce wealth to thousands of individuals, and to make a most valuable addition to the colonial empire of Britain. The pastures of Australia are of immense extent, and a number of years must elapse before, even under the most favourable circumstances, her flocks and herds can spread over the whole territory. Until this takes place, the progress of the colony, whether rapid or slow, will in a great degree depend upon the measures of the Government. If they are judicious, the prosperity of the colony will keep pace with the natural increase of her sheep ana ' cattle." — Resources of Australia.