are numerous agricultural and pastoral settlers, either of Irish birth or of Irish parentage, the possessors of smiling, productive homesteads, and members of a free and independent yeomanry.
There cannot be the slightest doubt that New South Wales contains within her wide domain all the elements of permanent prosperity. Her mineral resources are both extensive and valuable. Her coal mines in the basin of the Hunter river will be a source of industrial wealth for many years to come, as on them the sister colonies are mainly dependent for a supply. Her gold-fields are by no means yet exhausted, and the richness of her pastoral resources is unsurpassed. Wool is her staple product, and, as is well known, it commands a high price in the home markets. She has acquired to a great extent the large and growing river trade of the Murray and its tributaries, and is pushing her railways in every direction with commendable vigour and enterprise. It is no wonder, therefore, that her people now confidently predict that she will soon overtake the haughty Victoria, and once more wear the laurels of colonial supremacy.
