New-York tribune., 1894-04-22

For there Is nothing around which custom cTys-
tallizes more quickly than land transfer. Ola
habits remain in spite Of new forms; abuses anu
the devices intended to do away with them IIe-
ouentlv remain together, and the outcome Is
nuzzle that battles legal skill. This Is the fea-o''
as one NAV suppose. why the author declares 'he
land system of New-South Wales to be mohu-
ment OF middle stupcndous in It's dlmenSions'
fraught with incaculable mischief TO the present
and succeeding gencrations.' The people OF the
colony are thoroughly dissatisfied. but without
any adequate scheme Of reform. 1t was maze so
easy to purchase land that II became more prof.
table TO buy from the Crown on credit ana ssii
for cash than 10 cultivate Selection with no
classification between lands 1T for grazing ana
those worthy OF the plough. and without waiting
for survey. has been the cause OF endless quar-
r.ls and oven Of something like civil war No
proper effort has been given TO making agricuit-
IRE an object I'm the acquisition Of land The up
shot of the process has been that the colony mas
not grown as 1t was expected to do, and the chlef
value Of its land system Is ''as an object lesson
with respect TO its defects" In Tasmania. which
was a fairly direct onshoot from New-South
Wales. the methods adopted have failed to bring
about an adequate settlement Of the people upon
the soil. This is partly because OF the arbitrary
supposed to be: but another defect Is that which
nornits the acnuirement Of land by non-resdents.
ON the other hand. in Victoria. which was separ-
ated from New-South Wales about the time
when the troubles attending the irregular occu-
patton OF pastoral lands were most apparent, the
narrow and definite limits Of the colony left no
occasion for delay in settling land problems The
extremely large proportion of land suitable for
cultivation restricted speculation, which must
always have the stimulus Of uncertainty Be-
sides Il has had the practical sense to adopt
policy OF protection Heavy import duties on
cereals have encouraged farmers. Those who
came in multitudes 20 dig for gold found the soil
Itself a rich mine OF wealth. Circumstances have
all contributed to divide the land among genuine
occupants This yeOman class IS settling upon
the soil under wholesome conditions, and without
the class hatre,is and bitter feeling engendered
In some Of the other provinces But In Aus
tralasia as a whole the tendency IS to the con-
centrauon Of the people in cities. Perth. In
Western Australia. is the only provincial capital
which has not increasc scd beyond the relative ad-
vance Of the surrounding country Since 1871 the
population Of all the colonies has nearly doubled
itself while that of the cities has risen To fig
three times as great as that Of lS'. The
author peril in these facts. and he seems to
voice Il fairly general demand FOR radical alter
atoms I'm present methods ~ land alienation and
occupation Perhaps his very appeal is proof OF
the instability Of Australlsiln methods. But II
people are really giving up primary production
II on the whole rural pursuits aside from herdng
are falling off relatively. then years Of disaster
are certain T. come II cannot b. desirable that
one Industry should outweigh all other interests
Amid the various discontents which affect the
ll1lh .llcrs ~ all th~ colonies. publlc attention
is fixed on New Zealand perhaps n most daring
country On cIrth when f. comes 20 novelties in
l"gl"ll t.oiJ. v-nere strenuous efforts are making
t. limit the acquisitions - land In behalf Of the
workers. one important innovation is the
adoption in place ~ perpetual leases. Of leases
In perpc,uliy Under the former System. which
sI.l obtains I'm South Australia. leases were
granted for a specified number - years. with
the Hght ~ renewal Ia pcrp-tu,y 3. subject 10
prriodra r'appraiseneHts II rent The leases In
pcTpciu,y assure II the lesse" or his heirs as
signs the Use of the land f.. a95 wears At hxol
Guit-rentai equal 10 per cent upon its capital
value at The time 81 leasing" II is anticipated
that some change ~ This KIM will b. adopted
gradually throughout Australia. The feeling
against vast holdings has become very strong.
and apparently all devices In legislation will be
directed against them. After Australia has
worked tho problem ont the rest Of the world
viii and IL easy - borrow the solution.