Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-28
FARMERS LEAVE VICTORIA
HUNDREDS TAKE UP CLAIMS IN
OTHER AUSTRALIAN STATES.

| Low Prices in Queensland and New
South Wales Said to Be
the Cause.
Special Cahlesram to The Star.
SYDNEY. July 27.-For some months
there has been steady outflow of the
! agricultural population of Victoria. Farm
ers are giving up their holdings and are
seeking new lands and new homes In New
South Wales and Queensland. And most
of these farmers had been settled for years
in the best parts of the state which they
are leaving. 1t Is uncommon thing to
read in the newspapers of fifty or sixty
departures daily even more. Several
reasons are assigned for this migration.
One Is the high price of land In Victoria
as compared with that Of New South Wales
and Queensland, the high valuation put
upon the land representing the high rates
| of taxation for irrigation and other pur-
poses and the fact that most of the best
| land had been sold by the government so
that the young farmers have little chance
| for securing suitable country for agricul-
tural purposes or for grazing. There is yet
another reason which accounts for many
of the departures. Farmers who are now get
ting along in years have owned farms con-
sisting of some of the best land in Victoria
they have prospered and saved money.
/ They can sell their lands and at good
| prices and they are doing SO. They say
| that they want greater areas of country
so that their children may found homes
for themselves and for their families. and
the amount they receive for their Victorian
properties enables them to purchase twice
as much land in New South Wales and
three times much in Queensland. In
both states the purchasing terms very
I,t
may select practically illimitable. 1t
| is safe to say that many Of these people:
are making a mistake, for distance always
makes the prospect more enhancing. Vic
toria has the finest climate of any state In
Australia. Queensland, where most of the
farmers appear to be going, has the worst
When fine seasons are experienced all goes
well. but the long droughts (the last con-,
| tinued for seven years. result in terrible
sufferings for man and beast. Then again
many OF the settlers will be hundreds of
miles away from the railways and often
they will be obliged to suffer for the COM
forts as we'll as the luxuries of .-fe..
@ Deporting Kanaka Laborers. -
| What seems to be very serious state of
affairs is threatening the sugar cane plan
tations. In order that the people may be
! assured of white Australia the federal
government some time ago decreed that
the Kanakas must be deported. These
I<anakas are natives of the various islands
of the Pacific adjacent to Australia who
| have for many years been working on the
sugar plantations Some Of these people
are married and according to all reports
have become coed Christians. have settled
homes. and are acknowledged to be good
citizens and their .abor Is needed in the
| development of the country. but the gov
eminent makes no exceptions and all must
go. Some 1000 have already been returned
to the islands from whence ,-ey came and
at least LOO more must go before the end
of the year After living the greater part
of their lives among the whites whose WAYS
they have learned to love and to admire
they are being sent off to do the best they
can among semi-barbarians But few de-
tails have been allowed to leak out as to
how the business of removal has been car
ried on, but 1t Is known that some have
even been landed on the wrong Island and
that in all cases there appears to be
general disposition to return to old and
savage ha.its Of life and give up their
civilized ways.
And the difficulty with the proprietors of
the plantations now appears to be the Sc
curing of labor in the place Of the Kama
| kas. 1t is admitted that the cane country
is no place for white men to work. White
men may superintend the labor of Kana.las
but when it comes to the actual work of
the handling of the cane itself 1t Is very
doubtful whether white men really can do
the work under the conditions presented.
Proprietors in the sugar cane belt have nd
vertised all over Australia for workers and
though they offer good wages, there have
been practically no responses to their ad-
vertiscments Now they have agents in
England, France, Austria and Italy on the
alert for suitable men with instructions to
head off some Of the remarkable stream OF
emigration flowing in the direction of the
United States. The opinion of practical
men openly stated>is that tie sugar cane
industry here can be worked only with
colored labor and that this Is the beginning
and the end OF the argument. And now
that the colored labor is prohibited the
outlook for the sugar industry is naturally
very gloomy, especially for the coming sea-
son.
Distance Always a Bar.
Mr.. Deakn. the commonwealth premier.
and Sir William Lyme. minister of trade
and customs, were accorded a royal re-
ception at Adelaide upon the occasion of
their arrival after their visit to London
and the imperial conference. Addressing q
crowded audience at the town hal. Mr..
Deakin maintained that distance was
standing debit of the Australian who
journeyed to London. Out of sixteen weeks
absence he said ten had been spent in
ocean travel. He argued that they should
try to prevent local party politics from
impairing national interests and prejudicing
Austral-imperial interests The conference
had helped to bring the necessities of the
commonwealth before the people of Great
Britain and in that he believed it to be a