The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1901-08-10

|
orally. attract a numerous population
or one that is reliably permanent. EN-
| igrants in search of gold usually hope
! to find it. and then go somewhere else
| to settle down. SO it was in California,
and so ii has been in Australia. Gold
mining and sheep husbandry have
been the two leading industries of the
country. neither of which is calculated
to sustain a large and permanent popu-
lation. Both promise quick returns to
those who are successful. enabling them
soon to leave the country with a COM
potency. which has been done in multi
tudes of instances. Up to this time
comparatively few people have cared
to go to Australia with the idea of liv-
ing and dying in that out way
quarter of the world
Another thing that has retarded the
growth OF Australians population Is the
circumstance that the immigration has
been essentially British, with English
as the preponderating strain. Practi-
cally Australia has drawn all of its i'm
migration from the British Isles. and
the most of it from England proper.
while the whole of Europe has contrib
uted to swell the population of the
United States. Even of the British emf
grants it is said that twelve times as
many have settled in che United States
as in Australia. Within the last eighty
years 4 larger population has been
built up in the single State Of Illinois
than In the whole of the great Aus
tralian continent, which is about sixty
times the size of Illinois. The mere diff
ference in distance does not seem sufti-
cient to account for this.
The United States unquestionably
presents the stronger attractions, and
the better opportunities for the home
seeker. National sentiment may also
have something to do with 1t. Australia
is essentially English in thought and
feeling. The people pride themselves
upon their loyalty to the British Crown.
Neither the German nor the Scandina-
Wan cares to transfer his allegiance
from one Crown to another. If he is to
live where imperialism has any foot
hold, he prefers his own Emperor or
King. Still less has the Irishman been
drawn to Australia by political consid-
erations. The chief desire with him has
been to shake off his allegiance to the
British Government, and hence the
American Republic has been the goal
toward which his eyes have ever
turned
The effect of all this has been to re-
tard the progress of Australia, but to
create a thoroughly loyal dependency
of the British Crown. That is to say,
loyal nominally The Australians are
Loyal as long as they can do about as
they please. They are willing to sing
God Save the King" and to make vol
untary contributions of men and money |
TO aid England in her wars. But they |
would not submit to taxation |
by the British Parliament, or other in |
Of their rights by the |
mother country, any more than the |
did century and quar-
ter ago. Nevertheless. Australia is a |
loyal colony, as the term goes, and |
Great Britain would probably prefer to
have four million loyal subjects there
than to have the country inhabited by
forty millions of people whose senti-
nents were either Indifferent or hostile.
And, after all, it may be said that Aus
tralia has done fairly well. 1t is of
small significance that the country has
not progressed as rapidly as has the
United States, for the American Re-
public stands unique among nations,
md has never had a DaraIleI since the !
world began.