Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2 - Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers - Explored and Surveyed During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in The - Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. By Command of the Lords Commissioners - Of the Admir by John Lort Stokes
page 249 of 525 (47%)
page 249 of 525 (47%)
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Correct chart.
Restoration Island. Picturesque arrival. Interview with the Natives from Torres Strait. Their weapons. Shoal near Endeavour River. Discover good passage through Endeavour Strait. Booby Island. New birds. The Painted Quail. LAND SALES. No improvement had taken place in colonial affairs, and the sales of land, in consequence of the high price, were very limited. The fact was, the regulations that had recently been made gave very little satisfaction. By these the minimum price was fixed at one pound per acre; in consequence of which many predicted that millions of acres would be excluded from the market for ages to come, as it seemed not conceivable that any change could make them worth a quarter that sum, especially as on an average the natural grasses of the country will only support one sheep to four acres. The inevitable consequence was to prevent an augmentation of the emigration fund, which inflicted a serious evil on the colony, though by many the high price was considered a great boon, as it enabled them to enjoy, at a trifling charge, immense back runs, as safe from the intrusion of interlopers as if they had been granted by the Crown in perpetuity. It is my impression that the attempt to raise the largest sum of money by the sale of the smallest number of allotments is unwise, as it operates as a discouragement to small capitalists, who wish to occupy the land for themselves; it would in the end be more |
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