The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-08-29 00:00:00

THE AUSTRALTAN, COLONIES.

The following statements may be cited from partial:cell.--
tan? documents regarding New SOuthWales. The popil--
latiln in this colony in 1846 was 189;609, the number in!
Sydney, the capital, being 50,000, and there is still a con=
siderable disproportion between, the sexes. In the year'
1E43 the quantity of land under cultivation was 163,331.'
acres. The number of sheep is now 8,000,000, although-;
not-less than 900,000 were boiled: down• for tallow in 180"
—a-process which yields a net profit of only about 59:
per-head, while the annual average of the fleece, if it were."
not compelled to be sacrificed for want of labour, would
be about ,4s. Amongst articles of-experimental cultiva-
tion the vine has been introduced,. and is increasing very
rapidly.- Cuttings planted on about one or two acres
yielded a vintage in 16 months which gave four pipes of
wine.- Mitch of what is planted: is- the Rhine grape-
There is-also some of the claret grape and the Constantin
grape:- The latter grows very abucdantly, and gives not
a sweet-wine but a sparkling dry wine of the colour of
amber;. and it is believed that by skillit may be made to
produce something original. The other quality of wine
chiefly resembles hock. Although- at present it is not
much drunk at the tables of the colonists,.but is consumed
chiefly by the labourers, who pay ss. per gallon for it, it
is thought to be soon likely to come into general use.
Some pains have been taken to introduce persons who un-
derstand the cultivation of vineyards and the manufacture
of wine. The latitude of New South Wales is similar to
that of the south of Spain, and the climate is very like it,
but not quite so, hot. In Spain nothing can be done
without irrigation,. and in Australia this• has not been
commenced. The duty on imported wine is 15 per cent.
ad valorem..,

The olive has also been introduced to-a small extent.
It thrives wonderfully, but an erroneous impression has
been entertained that it requires 20 years to produce fruit,
whereas, by the proper method of planting, such as is
practised in Andalusia, a good crop may be obtained in
three years. Silk production likewise has bee. tricci, but
still only en a limited scale, although, it is produced very-
easily, and in groat abundance. The mulberry is not
.:
digenous, but it grows well. The orange grows magnifi
cently. The cotton. plant. unlike the American descrip-
tion, is a perennial, the same as in thaßrazils, the East
Indies, and Egypt.
With regard to mineral productions, coal, it appears, is
abundant. In many localities it may-be seen cropping
out at the surface, and it has been ascertained to extend
to a great depth, Copper mines have also been disco-
vered. About the beginning of the present year an ex-
tensive settler in Bathurst county, about 120 miles from
Sydney,. had obtained some specimens from the Burro
Burra Mine in.the neighbouring colony of South Austra-
lia, and having given a specimen to each of the shepherds
in his employment, with a promise that be would make it
worth their.while if they could find in their sheep walks
anything similar to it, he was surprised in the course of a
few weekaby a. piece being brought to him with an an-
nouncement that at a spot distant about 35 miles he might
find similatore in any quantity. The result was the dis-
covery-of- a very rich and apparently, inexhaustible copper
mine, and labourers are either now, on their way out for
the parpose of working it, or a negcciation is pending for
sending them. Again, in the Yass district country, about
140 miles from Sydney, there has been found a very valu-
able lead mine.

Steam communication exists from Sydney to Melbourne, .
Launceston. and Adelaide. The construction of railways -
is eagerly desired, and a line has been surveyed from Syd-
ney to Goulburn, about 120 miles. One plan suggested
as an inducement to European capitalists is, that Govern- -
ment should give a free grant of an acre of land for every-,
pound subscribed to these undertakings, so that the sub- -
scriber,.in addition to his chance of profit from the rail-
way,,would be put in possession of land equal in value,
at the Government minimum price, to the amount of hi*-
investment, and which land would be sure to advance,
greatly, from the completion of the undertaking. At the.
same time the temptation to the Government would be,.
that in making the estimated grant of 560,000 acres for
the purpose of the railway, they would bring into value,
supposing the advantages of the line to be felt within 20
square miles on either side, a total of 2,560,000 acres,•
leaving 2,000,000 available for speedy sales, and probably'
at advanced prices.
A supply of labour is the grand want. According to o•
majority of the witnesses, the colony could receive during.
the present year 20,000 actual labourers, independent-1F
of their wives and families, without depressing to any. im-
portant extent the rate of wages. The colonists havin4
voted the application of £lOO,OOO to the purpose,.on the
security of the land fund, Lord Grey has authorised the
commissioners to send out to them and to South Austra-
lia at least 10,000 people in the next twelve months. It
is understood that a very large number of the children of
parents who died during the Irish famine of 1847, and
whose ages are between 14 and 18, will be included ill
this emigration. it is stated by several witnesses that!!
great desire exists on the part of the labourers and small
settlers, similar to that which is so strongly observable
among the Irish in America, to aid the emigration of re-
lations and friends by, making remittances, and Lord
Grey has accordingly directed the governor to offer every
facility for the purpose. In May 1847, such was the ur-
gency of the colonists to obtain labour that a proposition
was made in the Legislative Council regarding the expe-
diency of procuring it even from China, India, or the
South Sea Islands, although the evil of engrafting bar-
barous or inferior races upon the population was clearbr
foreseen. The measure, however, was not carried out!.
except in the shape of an experiment on the part of
eem',
olf,
intelligent and enterprising settler, who imported 50 Seem'
Sea Islanders from the island of Tonne, one of the kle!"(-
Hebrides group. From the allusions made to this exr.rl--
ment it appears to have been a failure.
Regarding the Moreton Bay territory, which forms the
northern portion of New South Wales, it is asserted ,oOYr
Dr. Lang to be " one of the most favourable ftelds.4sh
colonization that has ever been occupied by the Brapd,
race." Its extent of navigable rivers is almost oneq" ;n-
-and the climate is of the. finest order. Mr. t Fry, aCO
he-
missioner of Crown lands, described the plains on
banks of the Clarence river as " an almost completejeca3lla
zation of Fenelon's conception of Calypso's isle,
such is its salubrity that, although there is a thriving PL,
pulation of 1,000 souls, a medical man of popular roan hat
and known talent found, after two years' experience,
it was impossible to make an income. The Ricarn,°43
river is also in this portion of New South Wales, n1,1,.,e
plains, which are still more extensive, possess theof7e..
character, and in Mr. Fry's opinion are capable
ceiving and settling the whole redundant populatioOarnsf
Great Brit'sin. "On the whole," he says,
residence has confirmed me in the opinion that o
try ever came from the hands of its Creator e
//lour
uef'er.
nently qualified to be the abode of a thriving Creators
been
ous population, and in forming this estimate I
being no
uninfluenced either by prejudice or by.interest,
to _ offi.
way concerned with it, save in that arising from Y
" a fouor yew,.
cial capacity."

LIVERPOOL:
TUESDAY, AUG.- 29, 1848.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED 1
NT 0;
EVERY TUESDAY MORN.-',,
Hy JOSHUA FLETCHER LACE, of 53, Grope street,
'LEONARD ADDISON, of 14, Great Orford-street,4
At Not 4., "i'%(;4o4ltuit's Citzsm 5T,14,1Eq..P.