The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-02-14 00:00:00

VAA DIEMAN'S LAND.

At a General .Meeting of the Agricultural Society of Van
Dientan's Land, held at the Ship Inn, Hobart Town, on the 13th
August, 1823, the President delivered the following Address:—
" At this Meeting I cannot omit to call the attention of the So-
ciety to an agricultural comparison ( which has lately appeared as
part of an Address, read by the President to the Agricultural So-
ciety of New South Wales) between that colony and Van Diemen's
Land. (See the British Press of Jan. 30.1 1 owe it to the office
which by your favour I occupy, and to my own connection with
this country, as a proprietor of land and a fanner, to state the
grounds upon which, I trust, we shall be enabled to shew, that we
have better pretensions than those assigncd to us.
" The superiority of New South Wales, as a country, is asserted
in several points.—First, as to water. It would occupy too much
time to go into topographical details, by which only the comparison
could be brought to test, nor is it necessary for me to attempt it ;
I need only dispute the assertion, and earners my conviction,
that on proof the comparison would not be unfavourable to our
Island. We are at least exempted from the alternate droughts and
I floods, to one or other of which New South Wales is almost an-
' nually subject; and whith tender its mops so uncertain, that, like
those of a sugar plantation in the West Indies, it may be ac-
counted to do well if one season out of three is productive.

" The comparison of climate for wool, at present also rests
solely upon assertion—for proof exists not. Ihe experiment is
here in its infancy ; it is not my place to vindicate our pro-
genitors of the colony, for having so long neglected to follow the
example of New South Wales in improvement of sheep. We
all know, that the improvement of wool in New South Wales
has been pursued for the last 23 years at least; but, while we ought
to acknowledge this useful example, we cannot admit that a pre-
sent comparison of the wool of the two colonies carries any proof
of the influence of our climate being adverse to its improvement.
We have imported largely, and continue to receive by almost every
ship fine-woolled sheep, from the best flocks in Europe and New
South Wales ; and we had an excellent stuck of our own.

11 In noticing the comparative tale prices of the wools of the two
colonies, as given by the President of the Agricultural Society of
New South Wales, 1 must say, that I see nothing to be ashamed of.
It there appears (obscured rather, I confess, in a parenthesis), that
two lots of our wool bore 2s. 2d. to 24. 7d.; the wool of New South
Wales, in large quantities, from 2s. 441. to 3s. 4d. Surely this is
nothing discouraging; if we have already 2s. 7d., who shall say
where we are to stop, with the present spirit of improvement, and
the means which accompany it
" Our climate certainly forbids sny tropical productions ; it ex-
cludes us from some productions of New South Wales, of which
probably maize is the only important one; but, I think, this is
more than compensated by other advantages. We have, in equal
perfection, and with greater facility, all the fruits and vegetables of
the Mother Country, and we can keep them as lung, which, in
New South Wales, is impossible. %ye may well resign the orange
and the citron, when we can have grain in substance and produce
and in store quality (for the weevil immediate)tinvades the grana-
ry, as the moth does the stack, of New South %Pales), one-fourth
superior in value to what that country affords ; and potatoes, to
which those grown in the Sister Colony have no resemblance. To
hot winds, and their destructive blights, we are nearly strangers ;
our summer heat may be taken as 70 to 90 to that of New South
%Vales, and our winter is never severe. The interior of the island,
I need not say to any one who has seen it, exhibits nothing like
a Prairie—the country described under that name is uniformly wet
and insalubrious. Our isLuiil, in every variety of surface, is

healthy at all seasons. It is throughout alternate hill and dale ;
in some parts lofty downs, but the soil rich ; in others moderately
undulated, and generally lightly timbered ; and it is unquestion.
ably a mast picturesque and beautiful country. I deny, therefore.
the claim to superiority for the climate of New Conch Wales ; and
I am prepared to say, that for the general purposes of man, our
climate has the advantage.

" The important benefits arising to New South Wales from the
country beyond the mountains, I freely admit ; it is the heat part
of the colony, and is stated by those who have seen it to be in fea-
ture, soil, and climate, very. similar to the interior and north-side
of Van l)ienian's Laud ; %about that country, indeed, I believe
the Eastern Colony would not have supported its stock. Corn.
mencing at a distance of 150 miles froau the seat of Government,
and from navigation, New South Wales has an unlimited back
country open to her. The limits of our island are fixed, but large
tracts, not half that distance front a port, are untouched, and new
ones are continually discovered • and we have a large space, or rt.
thee corner of the Island, to the north-west, which I hope will be!
betterknown next summer ; it is already sulliciently so, to assure
us of its importance. We are not likely to feel any pressure until
the efforts now in progress to improve our pastures shall have taken
eftcct, without which no inclosure.system, upon which selection,
separation, and improvement of stock so touch depend, can be
pursued. To inclose the native pasture would be ridiculous, and
without domestic pasture dairies to any extent are out of the ques.
thin. I deny that stock require to be winter foddertsl in this cowl.
try, more than in New South Wales ; they must in either country
have unl. 'tad range, with mixture of hill and bottom land, it they
are to subsist on the native pastures throughout the year ; if in in.
closures, the same pastures that would suffice in the one country,
would answer as well in the other.
_ _

" Having thus explained to the Meeting my views on the agri-
cultural comparison cf these countncs, I may perhaps be excused,
if to correct error, I billow the President of the New South Wales
Agricultural Society into other topics of comparison. It is said
that we are twenty rears behind New South Wales in civilization ;
that Colony was :minded 35 years ago : this dates to 20 years.
To the Mettler for ito years was directed all the capital—all the
labour—all the advantages of every kind, which onanat,tl front
the 3luther Country, or ..hick depended on the Colonial Govern-
ment. Till eight years ago, this was a cline pun ; no vessel
could enter, nor could any thing be imported but sin Poet Jack-
son, from whence we received her refuse treble-convicted felons,
out of which bands of robbers were formed, which for years deso-
lated this colony. New South \Vales than monopolizing every
advantage, even to the monopoly of supplying its depressed des
pendency ; the latter might well remain stationary as to improve-
ment. Hut better day, arrived, just prior to the emigration
commencing, this colony began to obtain relief; its subsequent
progress has shewn its capability.
It might be enough, however, for us at present to chew, that
we arc at least upon a par in civilization, with the detached
countries of New South Wales, viz. beyond the nmuntair,s and
Hunter's River, to which emigrants are recommended, in prefer.
encc to Van Dieman's hand ; for in the old colony all the land is
granted away. But, confessing our original deficiencies, and as-
sii,ting their causes, we now only require time for the respectable
emigration, which pours in upon us, to establish itself ; it is fast
doing so, and unless we suppose the civiliza,ion—the habits of
industry—and the valuable qualities belonging to Father Land, to
have been lost on the voyage, we cannot doubt of their effects ;
and that, in two or three years, we shall make up for the differ-
ences between 20 and 33 years, or I might bette• say, between tire
and 35 years • for we can hardly allow ourselves :0 be more than
five years