and character by economic observances as irrefutable as the laws of
Nature. The horses of out dry, stony uplands have already developed hoofs
in shape and texture well adapted to the country over which they roam,
and have become surer-footed and more active and durable. Conditions and
circumstances which in a few generations effect desirable changes in
horses will assuredly be influential in respect of the physique and
stamina and moralities of man. North Queensland will establish a type,
just as Tierra del Fuego did many centuries since, and the type will be
that which is best fitted to maintain itself. It will be brown of
complexion, hardy and alert. North Queensland is expansive and varied.
It comprises a marvellous range of geological phenomena, from which may
be expected remarkable variants. The sheep-grower of the treeless downs
will differ from the denizen of the steamy coast who supplies him with
sugar and bananas. The man from among the limestone bluffs may be in
temperament strange to the dweller on the black soil plains and to the
individual who lives among barren hills seamed with copper. Readers of
English books and magazines are familiar with the little prominence given
to matters which stand for good and worthiness and the stress laid on the
seeming disadvantages of life in tropical Australia. A favourite magazine
may contain a series of articles, sumptuously illustrated, conveying
information concerning country life in Canada. It is impossible not to
visualise the miles of wheat-fields, the imposing elevators, the railways
cutting across endless prairies or winding among wonderful mountains,
snowcapped as a stage effect merely. The pictures of chubby children and
buxom girls and sturdy boys tell of the healthfulness and invigorating
qualities of the climate. Is it not always spring or summer in Canada?
Would not the man who whispered of snow and ice be a renegade, a dastard,
a rebel? North Queenslanders do not attempt to belittle the reputation
of Canada as a field for the activities of the surplus population of the
old country. We are of the same blood and breed, and merely ask for a