PEOPLING THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. [From the Economist, January 24.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 728, 24 July 1852, Page 4

PEOPLING THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. [From the Economist, January 24.]

The influence of the gold and silver found in Americc, when that continent was first discovered by Europeans, inducing them to flock thither, and the similar and still race marked influence of the gold of California, leave no doubt that the recent discovery of the precious metals in such abundance in Australia is destined, by^Providence, to hasten the peopling of that remote 'continent, and contribute tojhe prosperity and progress of the otherwise overburthened countries of Europe. In the flocks of sheep reared only on account of the value of their wool in our markets; but likely hereafter to serve a very different purpose, food in vast quantities has been prepared as well as gold, giving to Australia a great advantage over California, and securing to it all necessary means of prosperity. There, too, a community has most providentially been established before the gold was found"; and there, consequently, already are prepared all the elements of peace, order, and" civilisation. Accordmg to the accounts from Sir C. FitzRoy, gold to the value of £70,000 had been sent home to the 18th of August. But since then accounts of discoveries, almost fabulous, have found their way hither from Melbourne, as well as Sydney, and letters have been published "announcing that the crews of shipa have deserted in great numbers, and -that the bulk of the people have left the watarside and the ports, and have run off to the diggings. The population has already been attracted to the modern Ophir from various parts of the Pacific and from Europe, and there is every probability that the gold regions there will soon be crowded with people gathering riches, but wanting necessaries, and forming a large and ready market for all the corn, fruit, cattle, and vegetables, that can be raised "in 'the neighbourhood. Under these circumstances, our attention has been called by the publication of a Parliamentary paper, No. 34, 711, on Emigration and the Australian Colonies, to the advantagps offered by Van Diemen's Land to those who desire to share in the gold discoveries, and realise, by a steady devotion to agriculture, a rational independence. The island is within two days sail of the continent, and in the immediate neighbourhood of the gold 'regions. According to a letter frojm Sir W. Denison, contained in this Parliamentary publication, about 8,000,000 of the 12,000,000 acres which the island contains, are yet unappropriated. Of the 8,000,000 acres, a large portion to the south of the Gordon, lately made accessible, is described as consisting of undulating plains, weHwatered. Further to the north, the country is more broken and rugged^ but the valleys are rich, affording ample pasturage, and ready for cultivation, To 'the north-

■ ward, along the shore of Bass's Straits, there is a great quantity of very r.ich land heavily umbered, which, with a rapidly increasing community inthe neighbourhood, might no longer be a dis-> advantage. The cultivated "land is extremely fertile, and crops of wheat have been taken off the same land, it is said, for twenty yeais consecuthely. Every part of the island" is comparatively a short distance from civilisation ; the roads "are good, the whole country is well watered, offering facilities both for water carriage and irrigation ; and there is less difficulty in. clearing the land for cultivation than is experienced in other colonies. The' climate is temperate and singularly healthy. It is far more pleasant to an Englishman than that of Sydney, Adelaide, or Port Phillip^ and is more "favourable to agricultural purposes. The central parts of the island are about 2000 feet above the level of the sea. It forms a plateau covered with lakes, from which all the rivers in the island flow in different directions. _ Near Hobart Town the annual rain varies from 1-5 to 25 inches. Snow seldom liesmore than a day in any part of the island, except, on the mountain ridges. Nature has dealt with Van Diemen's Land pretty much as she has dealt with Sicily, but she has spared it the huge vol--cano of Etna and its destructive outburst. For about 225. an "acre a man may become the" owner in fee simple of an estate. To clear the landeffectually costs fiora £6 to £12 an acre ; to clear it, leaving the" stumps stauding, costs' from £2 to £4 an acre. But the timber of which it i& cleared seivea all the purposes of building, and isjikely now to find a good market in the neighbourhood. Suppose a person to have acquired a block of two thousand acres for £2,200. Sir W. Denison estimates the cost ol clearing 700 acres at £700, the cost of fencing at £420 , which seems a very large sum, the cost of house and farm buildings at £400, and the price of stock and implements at £7QO, making a total of £4,420, for which a man may acquire an estate of 2000 acres, and" have 200 acres of it in a good working condition as a means by whichthe whole estate might speedily be made profitable. Labour is cheap, the ordinary wages of a labourer being from £9 to £10 per annum, wich board and lodging; of a shepherd from £12 to £18. Board is from £6 to £8 per annum, so that average wages is roughly estimated at 7s. a week. These estimates, however, were made before the discovery of gold in the neighbourhood, and wages, as well as the price of all agricultural produce, will no doubt be considerably raised by that circumstance. We do not on this account quote them, and Sir William tells us that the demand for potatoes for California has raised the price from £3 to £6 per ton. We should only lead our readers into errors were we to state the prices mentioned by Sir William as likely to be the ruling prices under the new circumstances which have made Van Diemen's Land so extremely an advantageous site for an agriculturist. But Van Diemen's Land lies under the blight of the convict system. It was and is a penal settlement, and its moral evils may be supposed to outweigh all its material advantages. To such imputations Sir W. Denison replies, aud his letter, be it remembered, is not addressed to the Colonial Minister, but to a clergyman who asked bis opinion of the capabilities of the colony — that being a convict colony, the police is much better organised and more efficient tban in the colonies on the mainland, and life and property are as safe as in any part of her Majesty's dominions. Few persons have such a thing as a window shutter, and precautions that io. England are considered indispensable, are in Van Diemen's Land seldom, thought of. In Sir W. Denison's opinion, the cessation of transportation at present would be most injurious to the v material interests of the island, and not * tend to improve it 3 moral condition. We observe, too, that the Female Emigration Society select Van Diemen's Land as the proper home for some of their emigrants. Only on Thursday last, there was published in the Morning Chronicle a letter from Hobart Town, addressed to the Right Hon. Sydney Herbert, M.P., detailing the particulars of the voyage and reception of the first party of female emigrants sent to Van Diemen's Land. In a few hours v they were all hired at wages varying fronj £10 to -£16 per annum. Ths writer of the letter concludes : — " The Committee for whom I have .the honor of acting, beg to express their thanks to yourself and the Committee with whom you are associated for sending out this first party. Every possible kindness and attention has been paid to them here, and I feel assured that none of them, if they conduct themselves well, will regret their emigration to .Van Diemen's Land. We shall always be ready to receive your parties, and if they consj'stof seivanl3, they will prove a great boon to the Colony," and will benefit themselves by emigrating." :^ The Southern Hemisphere contains the land of desire for the present generation of Europe. There is the El Dorado which so- fired the imagination and strained the nerves of our forefathers, that no difficulties could deter their stout hearts. Of the lands in the Southern Hemisphere, Van Diemefl's .Land though not yet known to be a gold region, but a region that yields wealth more valuable than gold, seems peculiarly well situated. A more tempting, place does not exist for young and enterprising agriculturists with caj ital and a family, anxious to provide permanent homes for their posterity and to affix their names enduringly to a part of the great globe and be for ever remembered. The government being desirous of facilitating and encouraging the settlement of small capitalists in' this highly favoured island, promulgated, before the discovery of gold was known, through ' the Emigration Commissioners, regulations to promote this end. With such encouragement, with Societies sending out emigrants, with a supply of cheap labour by transportation, Van Diemen's Land may probably become one of the most flourishing and best ordered settlements in the Southern Hemisphere. To agriculturists with a moderate capital desirous to emigrate, Van Diemen's Land, though far away from England, seems to offe*r an admirable home.