Half - a - Century of Australasian Progress. By W. Westgarth. (Sampson Low and
Co.)—The light which Mr. Westgarth's retro- spect of Australasian progress throws on the prosperity of Australia and New Zealand is both bright and searching. He went out to Australia in 1840, and made his last visit to that country in 1888. What is most striking in his voyage is naturally the increase in Colonial population and wealth which he refers to. The financial condition of the Australasian Colonies is very clearly explained to us. What seems to have troubled Mr.
Westgarth most was the leaning of Australians towards Protection, and the recklessness of New Zealanders in raising loans. The spirit of rivalry seems so strong that prudence is completely over- borne, and the result is, shaken credit. To many people, the indebtedness of these Colonies seems dangerously large, and rather heavy even for a rapidly growing population. The extent of local loans is really surprising. Mr. Westgarth describes very pleasantly the scenery through which his visit led him. He con- cludes a most interesting volume with some miscellaneous articles. He takes strong views on Intereolonial Federation, and points out what is one of the great stumbling-blocks to a federated Empire —namely, the dislike of the colonist (the Australian colonist at least) to sacrifice an iota of independence or money in return for the protection which he wants, to say nothing of what he already has.
Previous page
