through the sheltered seas of Java and New Guinea, and southwards within the Great Barrier Reef. But it is unkind of Mr Taverner, the Victorian Minister of Agriculture, to remark, in a book on his colony (which does not go in for free or for assisted immigration) that "Free land is generally worthless, and is only obtainable in inaccessible or badly-governed countries, where it can be of little value to the settler." There are distant portions of some of the Australian colonies, he remarks, where land is nominally much cheaper than in Victoria; but, when its inaccessibility and distance from market are taken into account, it is really dearer. Purchase money is paid once for all, but distance from market means paying annually a heavy tax in the shape of carriage, which would represent the annual interest upon an immense sum of money. The intending emigrant would be wise always to ask for a candid opinion of the country he meditates going to from the representative of a rival community. When agents-general fall out, the honest emigrant comes by some sidelights on the situation. After all, few men who are moderately successful in England will wish, or should be encouraged, to leave the comforts of civilization for the chances of the Bush. A woman who is not sure of getting a husband at home is perhaps in a different case.
As to the public finance, the latest Treasury returns show that the revenue of the colony, during the three months ending September 30, 1899, amounted to £1,253,000, as compared with £1,121,000 during the same period of last year. The expenditure was £653,000 as compared with £565,000.
