The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-09-24


the social, political and mate
rial situation of the Australian con-
| federation. 1t is what might be eX-
pected from a man who entertains a
sanguine view of the future Of his
country, future which he hopes
largely to be instrumental in moulding
to his own aspirations. But the great
est of all problems for the citizens of
the federation is not politics or labor
or tariff or financial obligations sever
ally, for all these are subsidiary to a
natural phenomenon, the like of which
the world has rarely seen. In little
over seven years practically the whole
of central Australia has become a
scorched and barren desert.
1t is not the case of one bad season
coming after several good ones. but
the worst od a series of bad ones which
has eliminated this year in annihilat-
ing almost the entire live stock of the
country. Hundreds Of thousands of
cattle and millions of sheep have died
of drought The trade in frozen meat,
which was becoming such formidable
competitor with our own, the export Of
wool and hides, and of the several in
dustries which directly and indirectly
depend upon them have been ruined al
most beyond hope of recuperaton.
Even the rabbits and kangaroos have
been decimated frightfully. No animal
or vegetable life to which water is a
necessity has survived.
1t Is, of course, beyond human power
to alleviate the situation. Sir Edward
speaks hopefully of the irrigation
works which he expects to see ramify-
Murray is not a Nile. 1t is a big
stream as rivers go in Australia, but
it is practically confined to New South
Wales and a corner of South Australia
before it empties itself into the South
ern ocean. There are no other large
though there are abundant rivulets
around the seacoast. Stupendous ef-
forts have been made to irrigate COM
paratively large tracts in Australia.
The perennial supply of rainfall in
some distinctive quarter upon which
success largely depends in irrigation
works seems to be absent entirely in
Australia. The British engineers who
are building the cyclopean dams upon
the delta of the Nile in upper Egypt
can calculate with scientific accuracy
the quantative periodic rise of the river
from observations made during the
rainy seasons at it's sources. Nothing
like this can be predicted for Austria
liza. A drought which has lasted seven
years on continental area Is essen
TALLY cosmic in Its destructiveness and
permanence.
The ranches in Australia are on a
large scale. One of thousand square
miles is regarded as moderate prop
erty. Lord Salisbury said some years
ago, when European powers were likely
to come to loggerheads over some strip
of equatorial Africa, that he UNDER
stood that the place had a very light
soil. Central Australia has a very
light soil. On an average a mile of it
will carry only six head of cattle or
about sixty sheep. But even under
these limitations squatters could be-
come enormously rich with the average
nominal rainfall.
At the present day the productive
area of Australia is practically con-
fined to comparatively narrow mar
gin along the eastern and southeast
ern coast. This is sufficient perhaps
for the present requirements of the
country with population of about
four millions, decreasing birth rate
and declension in immigration. But