Up To Date Business

V >> Various >> Up To Date Business

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22

FOOTNOTE:

[3] Since the above was written the scheme has been developed a very
considerable way toward completion. The name of the confederation is
to be "The Commonwealth of Australia."

THE AREA AND CLIMATE OF AUSTRALIA

Australia is a continent not only in name but in fact. Its area,
including Tasmania, is almost 3,000,000 square miles, which is about
the area of the United States exclusive of Alaska, and only about one
fourth less than the area of the continent of Europe. Fully two fifths
of this area lie within the torrid zone, and of the rest, even in
Victoria, the part farthest from the equator, the climate is so warm
that it corresponds with that of Spain, southern France, and Italy.
But over so vast a territory great differences of climate must occur,
and consequently of products also. A general description of the
climate and products of Australia is therefore impossible. Yet there
are several characteristics which appertain to the whole continent.
The chief of these are (1) the great DRYNESS of the ATMOSPHERE--not
merely its lack of rain, but its absolute freedom from moisture; (2)
the remarkable INEQUALITY, or want of regularity, in the RAINFALL.
Occasionally the rainfall is excessive, but a more frequent and
serious cause of trouble is excessive drought. The continent on every
side has a low coast region, where the rainfall is heavier and the
temperature generally hotter than in the corresponding table-land
interior to it. But the vast table-land of the interior has
comparatively little rain, and indeed in some parts of it, especially
in the centre and west, the rainfall is so slight that the country is
practically a desert.

But even when all the desert areas of Australia are excluded from
calculation there still remains in the interior plateau, toward the
east and south, an immense area of country of great fertility and
productiveness. The Murray River alone drains an area of 500,000
square miles, one sixth of the whole continent, a great part of which
is of exceeding richness. In these fertile parts irrigation by
artesian wells has been tried, and always with great success. And it
is thought that almost the whole continent can be regained for
agriculture, or at least for sheep-pasturing, by similar means; for
even in the arid and so-called desert parts of the interior, there is
very little soil that is not really fertile, for all of it is covered
with thick brushwood. Moisture alone is needed to make it bear crops
abundantly. And this dryness of the atmosphere which prevails
throughout the whole continent is not without its compensations. It
renders the climate exceedingly healthful.

AUSTRALIA A CONTINENT OF PECULIARITIES

Australia has MANY PECULIARITIES. It has only one large river, and
even that in summer becomes a series of isolated pools. It has no high
mountain range, its principal mountains being only a series of
ramparts marking off the lower coast lands from the interior plateau.
Again, its native quadrupeds are entirely different from those of
other continents, being almost all, whether little or big,
"marsupials," or "pouch-bearers," like the kangaroo. Its birds are
mostly songless. Its flowers, for the most part, have no scent. Its
trees are leaved vertically and cast no shade. Its indigenous
inhabitants have made no progress toward civilisation. When Europeans
first came to the country they found no native animal that could be
put to any use, nor any native fruit, vegetable, or grain that could
be utilised for food. Still, all European domestic animals thrive
abundantly in the country, and so do all European fruits, grasses,
grains, and vegetables. The English rabbits, indeed, have become a
terrible pest. As many as 25,000,000 of them have been killed in a
year without any apparent diminution in their numbers. Over $1,000,000
a year has at times been spent to exterminate them, all to no effect.

VICTORIA

Victoria, the smallest of the Australian colonies, had until recently
the largest population (June, 1897, 1,177,304) and also the largest
trade. In both respects, however, it is at present surpassed by New
South Wales. Victoria has owed its past pre-eminence to its GOLD
PRODUCTION. Gold was discovered in the colony in 1851, and for years
the output of the precious mineral was not less than $50,000,000 per
annum. The present output of gold in Victoria, however, is only
$10,000,000 per annum. Richer, however, than the gold-mines of
Victoria is the fertility of its soil. A large part of the soil is
exceedingly fertile--with irrigation one of the finest fruit-bearing
soils in the world. The arboreal vegetation of the country is
magnificent. Trees thirty feet in diameter rise to the height of 200
feet without a single lateral branch, and then 100 feet to 200 feet
higher still. Pear-trees grow to the height of eighty feet, with
trunks three feet in diameter. But as yet wool-growing, wheat-raising,
and vine-growing are the principal agricultural occupations of the
people. The principal agricultural export is WOOL--$25,000,000 worth
per annum. But a considerable portion of this comes from New South
Wales. The SHEEP kept number 15,000,000, the cattle 2,000,000. But the
colony still remains principally a mining community. Five ninths of
the population live in towns. Yet there are few towns, and two fifths
of the whole population live in Melbourne--a city almost exactly as
large as Boston.

MELBOURNE

MELBOURNE (451,110; with suburbs, 500,000), the capital city of Victoria
and the chief city in Australia, is also one of the most beautiful
cities in the world. Its parliament buildings, town hall, post-office,
treasury, mint, law courts, public libraries, picture galleries,
theatres, churches, and clubs are all edifices of architectural
magnificence and beauty, while its boulevards, parks and gardens are
equally splendid. At one time money flowed freely and great commercial
recklessness prevailed. But though Melbourne has sustained several
severe depressions its present condition is prosperous and its future is
assured. It is, however, a pleasure-loving city, and it is as much on
this account as on account of its great beauty that it is called "the
Paris of the southern hemisphere." Nowhere else in the world, perhaps,
are indoor amusements--the theatre, concerts, etc.--or outdoor
amusements--cricket, football, horse-racing, etc.--more devotedly
patronised than in Melbourne. Other important places in Victoria are
BALLARAT (40,000) and SANDHURST (37,000), both mining towns, and
GEELONG (25,000) locally noted for its manufacture of "tweeds."

NEW SOUTH WALES

[Illustration: Australia. Shaded portions show where the rainfall is
sufficiently abundant.]

New South Wales (population 1,311,440) is the oldest colony of
Australia and the parent of both Victoria and Queensland. Of all the
colonies, it has, perhaps, the greatest range of productions. On the
low coast lands its soil is of extraordinary fertility, and even in
the dry interior, when irrigation is employed, the fertility is still
extraordinary. As yet, however, but one acre out of every two hundred
is under cultivation, the chief agricultural occupation being
pasturing. Over 50,000,000 SHEEP are kept, principally the MERINO.
Grass grows everywhere, and even the summits of the mountains are
covered. Drought, however, is a terrible drawback, and sometimes
tremendous losses occur. In 1877 over 8,000,000 sheep perished, and in
1884 over 12,000,000. The total WOOL PRODUCTION is very large,
averaging $50,000,000 a year. The export of hides, skins, leather, and
chilled meat, principally mutton, amounts to $10,000,000 annually.
Chilled mutton and beef are sent direct to London, though the passage
takes five or six weeks by steamer and twelve to sixteen weeks by
sailing-vessel. Scarcely less important than its agricultural products
are the mineral products of New South Wales. Its COAL-MINES are the
finest on the continent, and $4,500,000 worth of coal is exported
annually, besides what is consumed locally. Its gold production,
though not very large, is general throughout the whole colony. Its
SILVER-MINES in SILVERTON and BROKEN HILL are among the most famous in
the world, and its tin-bearing lands comprise over 5,500,000 acres.
The foregoing comprise the staple products--the production of
industries already well established. But fruit-growing, including all
fruits, from apples, pears, and peaches, to olives and oranges, is a
rapidly developing industry, no country in the world being better
suited to it. Wine-making, too, is quickly coming forward, the New
South Wales wines equalling in flavour those of France and Spain.
Wheat-growing, cotton-growing, and even rice-growing are also in their
several districts rapidly extending and prosperous pursuits. The
development of New South Wales has only just begun. SYDNEY (including
suburbs 410,000) is the capital and by far the largest city. Sydney,
like Melbourne, is a beautiful city, but its beauty is natural rather
than artificial, and it is well entitled to its name, "Queen of the
South." It is situated on Port Jackson, one of the finest and most
beautiful harbours on the globe. Sydney is the headquarters of all the
various lines of steamships--British, American, French, Italian,
etc.--that trade with Australia, and is indeed one of the great
seaports of the world.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

South Australia (358,224 in 1897) occupies the whole central part of
the continent from north to south. But as only a very small portion
of this vast area is settled--the southeast corner--it may be
described as in characteristics resembling Victoria. Its principal
industry is WHEAT-GROWING. South Australia is indeed the great granary
of the continent, and is destined to be one of the great granaries of
the world. Like the other divisions of Australia, South Australia,
when once drought has been overcome by irrigation, is destined to
become a great fruit country, its warm, moistureless climate being
peculiarly well suited to the ripening of fruits of exquisite
flavours. Already its olives are pronounced the finest in the world.
The principal city and chief port is ADELAIDE (with suburbs 144,352).
Like other Australian ports, Adelaide possesses excellent steamboat
shipping facilities. In the north, on the Timor Sea, is PORT DARWIN,
likely to be an important trade centre.

QUEENSLAND

The most interesting of all the Australian colonies is Queensland
(population 472,179), for it is a tropical country with a climate so
salubrious that white people can live in it and be comfortable and
healthy. The heat, instead of being enervating, is stimulating and
bracing. A great portion of its soil is of unsurpassed fertility. The
only drawback is the unequal distribution throughout the year of the
rainfall. But wherever irrigation wells are sunk the climate becomes
highly suitable for SHEEP-RAISING, and also for the growing of many
kinds of FRUIT. There are already 15,000,000 sheep and 5,000,000
cattle in the colony, and wool is exported to the amount of
$15,000,000 annually. Other agricultural exports are frozen beef and
mutton, and hides and skins. WOOL is the chief export. The second
export in importance is GOLD, which reaches $10,000,000 per annum. Tin
is also exported, and coal, though little worked, is abundant.
Developing exports are sugar ($2,500,000 per annum), arrowroot,
cotton, tobacco, rice, and coffee. A difficulty, however, in the
development of these products is the labour question. White men cannot
work in the plantations. Chinese prefer to work in the mines. The
natives won't work anywhere. No negroes are obtainable. As a
consequence Polynesians have to be imported. BRISBANE (100,913) is the
capital and chief city and port.

WEST AUSTRALIA

West Australia (population 162,394), the largest of all the Australian
colonies, has only been recently settled, and its constitution as a
self-governing colony dates only from 1890. A large part of its area
has never been explored, and a large part is known to be scrub desert.
But there is scarcely any part of it, even of its "scrub" areas, but
that will support sheep when once artesian wells have been sunk, and
large portions of the colony, especially along the coasts, are as
fertile as need be. And the climate, though very dry, is exceedingly
healthful. PERTH (43,000) is the capital. ALBANY is the principal
port.

THE IMMENSE RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA. ITS PROBABLE FUTURE

Australia is undoubtedly on the eve of a period of great development.
Its resources are known to be immense. Its climate has been found most
favourable to human health, and the objectionable feature of the
climate, the smallness and irregularity of the rainfall, has been
studied and become understood and found remediable. Once the
confederation that is now in process of formation takes place, there
is no doubt that Australia will enter upon a new and prosperous
commercial era. Owing to the fact that its chief opportunities for
wealth lie in the development of its natural resources, it is probable
that for some time to come almost all the manufactured goods Australia
needs will have to be imported. Already its importation amounts to
$275,000,000, of which, of course, Great Britain supplies the
principal share. This importation is principally clothing and
materials for clothing, but it also comprises hardware and machinery,
and in fact everything required by a highly civilised and
money-spending people, except breadstuffs and provisions. The
magnitude of this importation may be comprehended from the fact that
it is more than one third of the total exportation of the United
States for any year save one up to 1896, including our immense export
of breadstuffs, provisions, and cotton. And besides the articles of
export already mentioned--WOOL, MEATS, HIDES, SKINS, MINERALS, FRUITS,
etc.--there is one other Australian resource that is capable of almost
indefinite development. This is its TIMBER. The eucalyptus or gum-tree
prevails almost universally in Australia, and some of its commonest
varieties, being both strong and indestructible by insects, are of
almost unequalled value for ship-building, railway ties, and dock and
harbour construction. That the Australians are fully alive to the
importance of developing their foreign trade is seen in the efforts
they have made to provide facilities for bringing their products to
ocean ports. There are 11,980 miles of railway, almost every mile of
which has been built by the governments. This is one mile of railway
for every 300 inhabitants, as against one mile for every 400
inhabitants in the United States. These railways run wholly to and
from the seaboard. There are no manufacturing towns to be catered to.
Australian trade consists wholly in exchanging home-raised natural
products for imported manufactures. Equally remarkable with the
railroad enterprise of the Australians is their enterprise in
telegraphic construction and the establishment of cable
communications. For example, a telegraph line 2000 miles long, running
across the continent from Adelaide to Port Darwin, has been built by
the province of South Australia so as to connect with a cable from
Port Darwin to Java, Singapore, etc., and thus with Europe and
America. For at least 1500 miles this telegraph line runs through one
of the most desolate and inaccessible regions in the world.

XI. THE TRADE FEATURES OF SOUTH AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA, A FERTILE CONTINENT WITH DRAWBACKS

South America is an immense but very fertile continent, whose natural
resources are as yet scarcely begun to be utilised. Though not so
large as North America, it has a far greater area of productive
soil--and, indeed, much of its soil is quite unsurpassed in fertility.
It suffers, however, from two great drawbacks. 1. A great portion of
its area (four fifths) lies within the torrid zone. In the low coast
regions of this torrid area, and also in the low forest regions
watered by the great flat rivers of the interior, the climate is for
the most part unendurable to white men. 2. South America has been
unfortunate in its settlement and colonisation. Until in recent years
colonisation as understood in Anglo-Saxon communities has scarcely
been attempted in South America at all. All the earlier immigrations
from the Old World were prompted by the thought of getting gold and
silver and precious stones--if need were by the spoliation and
enslavery of the natives. Only a small proportion of the
population--not more than a quarter of the whole--consists of whites,
and these are principally from Spain and Portugal. These conquerors
of the continent have not in the main succeeded in establishing either
stable forms of government or high types of civilisation. Furthermore,
the mixed races--the MESTIZOS or METIS, as they are called, the
descendants of the earlier Europeans and the natives--instead of
advancing in civilisation have for some time past been retrograding.
Then, again, there is a large negro element, the descendants of
Africans once imported as slaves, to still further complicate the race
question; and there is a considerable element partly negro and partly
Indian. In only one state, Argentina, can affairs be said to be really
prosperous, and even in Argentina the civilisation developed by its
prosperity is gross and material rather than refined and intellectual.
The next most prosperous and important states are Brazil and Chile.
Perhaps Uruguay, though the smallest of all the states, should be
placed after Argentina. The remaining independent states of the
continent--Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and
Paraguay--are all states of the prevailing South American type. Their
governments are more or less unstable. They are terribly burdened with
debt, and their credit is such that they must pay high rates of
interest. The civilisation once introduced among their native races by
the zeal of Spanish missionaries is deteriorating if not vanishing.
And even among their leading classes there is much to be desired in
the observance of the ordinary principles of right and wrong.

EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION IN SOUTH AMERICA

All the South American states enumerated above, with the exception of
Brazil, were first taken possession of and "settled" by the Spanish,
and the Spanish language still remains in them the language of
government, education, and society. Brazil was first taken possession
of and "settled" by the Portuguese, and in Brazil the Portuguese
language prevails, just as elsewhere in the continent the Spanish
language prevails. Among the natives many different languages are
found, but in Brazil a "common language" is used, one introduced by
the original Portuguese missionaries, and understood by nearly all the
tribes. Between Brazil and Venezuela is a triangular piece of country
called Guiana, which, unlike the rest of South America, is still under
the control of European powers. It consists of three parts--French
Guiana, Dutch Guiana, and British Guiana--colonies of France, Holland,
and Great Britain, respectively. Leaving out Guiana, South America has
received its entire civilisation from Spain and Portugal, and, with
the exception of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, there has been little
or no emigration to any South American country except from these two
European countries. To Argentina, however, there has been a large
emigration from Italy especially, but also from France, Great Britain
(mainly from Ireland and Wales), Germany, and Sweden. A similar
emigration has taken place to Uruguay, though the foreigners in
Uruguay are principally Basques, a people that live on the border-land
between Spain and France, but are neither Spanish nor French. In
Brazil the immigration, where it has not been Portuguese, has been
chiefly Italian and German, and in the temperate region of the extreme
south of Brazil a large German population exists. Everywhere in South
America the parts most prosperous are the parts that have come most
directly under the influence of recent European emigration.

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

The Argentine Republic, or "Argentina," as it is popularly called, is
the most prosperous and most important of all the South American
states. Its area (1,319,247 square miles) is equal to the total area
of the States of the United States east of the Mississippi and
Missouri, including the Dakotas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
Although a portion of this vast area is not of much value for
agricultural purposes, especially in Patagonia, a very large portion
of it does consist of soil of great fertility, while the climate,
which for the most part is a temperate one, is such as is well suited
to Europeans and white people generally. The population May 10, 1895,
was 4,094,911. Of this population it is estimated that over 850,000
are Italians, 183,000 French, 161,000 recently emigrated Spaniards,
60,000 English, and 54,000 Germans and Swedes. The language of the
government and of the schools is Spanish. At one time in Argentina
there was a disposition to take the United States as a model in
everything, but of late years there has been a tendency toward taking
France as a model in manners and customs. This disposition to imitate
European peoples is particularly true of the wealthy classes.

ARGENTINA'S RAPID PROGRESS

The pride and boast of Argentina has been its rapid progress. In the
thirty years ending 1886 the immigration was over a million. From 1886
to 1889 it was from 100,000 a year to 200,000 a year. In 1890, owing
to the financial crisis of that year, it fell away almost to nothing.
Since 1890 it has gradually increased until now it is about 100,000 a
year again. In 1869 the population was only 1,837,000. Now it is over
4,000,000. Similarly the capital city, Buenos Ayres, has made an
increase not easily paralleled. In 1869 its population was only
187,126. In 1887 it was 423,996. By the census of 1895 it was 663,854.
To-day it is said to be 750,000. Of this number about one half are
foreigners. The high protective tariff established by Argentina in
1878 had the effect of instituting many small industries in Buenos
Ayres, and to this cause the exceedingly rapid growth of its
population is partly attributable.

ARGENTINA'S AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES

The great prosperity of Argentina has been due to the extent and
immediate availability of its agricultural resources, for its forest
wealth remains undeveloped, and its mineral resources are
comparatively scanty. Its vast treeless and stoneless plains have
needed no "improvements" to make them fit for settlement, and the soil
which covers them being of virgin richness bears crop after crop
without fertilising and with very little cultivation. Immigrants
arrive in the country without a dollar and in twenty years are owners
of estates of 5000 acres each. In no country in the world has
agricultural extension been more rapid. In twenty years the acreage
under cultivation increased 1400 per cent. The amount under
cultivation in wheat alone increased 2600 per cent. The WHEAT
PRODUCTION averages 40,000,000 bushels, which is not far short of one
fourth of the total wheat export of the United States. The production
for 1897 was 60,000,000 bushels, although the amount exported was much
less than that. The wheat product is indeed very variable, owing to
droughts and locusts, for, like Australia, Argentina is uncertain in
its rainfall. The CORN CROP is steadier, and in 1896 amounted (for
export alone) to 60,000,000 bushels. More important in the aggregate
than the direct products of the soil are the indirect products. There
are 22,000,000 CATTLE kept in Argentina, 75,000,000 SHEEP, and
4,500,000 HORSES. The total exportation of animals and animal products
amounts to $70,-000,000. Of this exportation the principal item is
WOOL, the wool-clip of Argentina being, in weight, one seventh of the
total wool-clip of the world. Unfortunately, however, Argentina wool
is very dirty, and when washed reduces to one third, while Australian
wool reduces only to two thirds or three fifths and is free from
seeds. The profit accruing to the Argentina wool-grower is thereby
lessened. But, nevertheless, wool-growing in Argentina is a very
profitable industry, and many farmers (principally Irish settlers)
have from 50,000 to 100,000 sheep each. Cattle-farming is carried on
mostly by native Argentines, and many cattle farms are stocked with as
many as 10,000 cattle and 2000 horses each. The great exports of
Argentina, therefore, after wheat and corn and wool, are HIDES and
SKINS, TALLOW, CHILLED BEEF, and MUTTON and bones. There are five
factories in Buenos Ayres engaged wholly in chilling mutton, and the
export of chilled mutton to Great Britain alone is $5,000,000 a year.
Another growing agricultural product is WINE, the yearly production
being 1,500,000 gallons. Notwithstanding Argentina's magnificent
forest areas, but little timber is exported or even manufactured for
home consumption. The other principal manufacturing industries are
carriage-, cart-, and harness-making, cigarette- and match-making,
preserving and tinning meat, brewing, flour- and corn-milling, and the
making of macaroni.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22