An Essay on New South Wales. By G. H. Reid.
(T. Richards, Sydney ; Triibner and Co., London.)—It is difficult in a narrow com- pass to give a fair idea of this work. The different industries of the colony are so manifold, and the natural resources so varied, that justice cannot be done to the subject in the columns of a review. A tithe of such prosperity as we here read of would be enough to set up any reasonable colony. New South Wales, too, is to be commended for its choice of a pleader. Even the general reader will here find plenty to interest him. As to those who intend to emigrate, they cannot possibly do better than invest in this wonderfully well-put-together and prac- tical handbook. Our American cousins, with their usual assurance, have always insisted that California and other parts of their huge Republic have "whipped" all that the world has yet done in the way of commercial progress ; but we should not fear, after reading Mr. Reid's essay, to challenge them to equal the enormous development of New
South Wales, particularly during the past five years. When we learn that with a population of less than one-sixtieth of that of the United Kingdom, New South Wales already does a trade amounting to nearly one-thirtieth of that of the home-country, we see what a vast future lies before this, the pioneer-colony of the Australias. Again, we shall find
that our own vast return of " exports " is only twenty-three times that of our brethren at the antipodes. We again recommend this book to our readers. It is not often that a work, of which " statistics " must necessarily form a large part takes such an agreeable form.
Previous page
