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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 18

No. IX.—Feb. 11th, 1869

No. IX.—Feb. 11th, 1869.

It may be not unreasonably expected that in closing my reports relative to the settlement which has taken place under the 42nd clause of the Amending Land Act, I should give the conclusions at which I have arrived respecting it, and the effect of such settlement upon the colony at large. There can be no question but that the clause has been interpreted in a manner which was never dreamt of at the time of its initiation. Originally intended to provide for the wants of small dairymen in the neighbourhood of the gold-fields, and to afford facilities to these miners who were desirous of settling in the neighbourhood of the scene of their avocations, it has been so administered that its operation has beenrendered almost universal throughout the colony; and instead of being a comparatively insignificant portion of our land law, it has far exceeded in importance all other sections of the act, and has become the principal instrument of settling the people on the land. Leaving altogether out of the question how far such a straining of the clause was rendered justifiable by the requirements of the colony, I proceed to consider what has been the result. In answering this question I am compelled to acknowledge that in the districts I have visited more bonâ fide settlement has taken place under the clause than by any other means previously adopted, and the working of the scheme merits almost unqualified commendation. I may here mention that the portions of the colony I have recently visited were all familiar to me from ten to fifteen years ago. Scores of times I have ridden over the ground before there was an acre of it cultivated, save perhaps a few small plots around the home stations of the pastoral tenants, and the change which I now witnessed—prepared as I was to see a very great difference—certainly filled me with astonishment. Then, in going from one place to another, I had to take bearings from some mountain, or other well-defined landmark in the distance; now the traveller is compelled either to keep the high road, or avail himself of the slip-panels in the farmer's fences. Then almost the only signs of settlement or civilisation were the solitary shepherds, as they tended their various flocks; now, in driving some five hundred miles through the Castlemaine, Ballarat, Ararat, and Talbot districts, I only saw two flocks of sheep. No doubt there were more, but they were either grazing on the purchased land of their owners, or were close to the home stations. The vast tracts of land over which they once roamed at will are now all taken up, and the solitary shepherd and his sheep have been replaced by comfortable homesteads and waving fields of golden grain. There are, no doubt, some instances in which the privileges granted by the clause have been abused. Sections of land have been taken up by means of dummies, for the mere purposes of speculation, or in order to secure the use of them to the pastoral tenant of the page 34 run; whilst, on the other hand—as I previously mentioned in the case of the run of Mrs. Campbell, at Glengower—the squatters have occasionally been subjected to unnecessary annoyance through persons taking up portions of land near to their improvements for the mere purpose of extortion. Wherever the land is really wanted for settlement, the squatter must of course give way; but such practices as these to which I have alluded should be discouraged in every possible manner, because when indulged in and successful, they have a most demoralising effect upon these concerned in them.

Whilst, however, admitting these evils, I must at the same time state that they exist to but a comparatively trilling extent; and that, taking the working of the clause as a whole, it has been eminently satisfactory, and the settlement which has taken place under it cannot fail to be highly beneficial to the country. In some instances, consequent upon the nature of the country and the alienation by auction long ago of all the best land, the settlement is of a straggling character; in others, as at Moolart and Eddington, cultivated fields, dotted with flourishing homesteads, are to be seen extending over an area of several square miles. In each instance, however, the settlers appear to be almost equally content. They have had, and in many cases still have, plenty of difficulties to encounter; but, one by one, they cheerfully met, and either have overcome or are overcoming them. It has been urged that the area of land which can be taken up under the clause is too small to give a man a fair chance of success; and that the consequence will be the creation of a class of pauper agriculturists. I have no fear of anything of the sort arising. In some instances the smallness of the original holdings has been remedied by means of transfers—a proceeding to which, when there is no question of the bona fides of both parties, the Lands Department very properly offers no objection. I readily admit that in the majority of cases the settlers under the 42nd clause have not very great opportunities of realising fortunes, but as a rule, they are in a position to do what for the country at large is a great deal better. They will be enabled to bring up their families in comfort and in plenty, to give their children a fair education, and thus, by their attachment to the homes they have created for themselves, and consequently to the country of their adoption, will become most valuable colonists, true conservatives in the only sensible meaning of the word, and a powerful check upon anything approaching that rabid and false democracy which is so dangerous to a young country in which all have equal political privileges. As soon as a man becomes a landholder, and has a home that he can call his own, he becomes a far more valuable citizen than he ever was before. He has something to care for, something to protect, and he acknowledges the responsibility. If his holding is comparatively large, he becomes an employer of labour, and thus adds directly to the wealth of the country; if, on the contrary, the plot of ground which he calls his home is but small and insufficient of itself to support him, then he becomes the most valuable and trustworthy assistant to these more fortunate than himself. Society possesses a material guarantee for his good behaviour, and in his sphere he proves as useful a member of the community as his wealthy neighbour.

Viewing the subject in this light, it appears quite as desirable that farm labourers should have homes, as it is that there should be large and flourishing farms upon which they can be employed. That these men should continue, as they have hitherto been, semi-vagabonds, wandering to page 35 and fro through the country from one station or one farm to another, is a condition of things good for neither employer nor employed. The former uncertain as to what labour he can depend upon; the latter becomes habitually careless, and but too frequently this carelessness ends in dissipation and crime. The 42nd clause, by rendering settlement easy, tends to check the erratic disposition so easily developed in a new country; and if it did this alone it would be matter for great congratulation. It has however, done much more. It has immensely increased the area of land under cultivation, and, as a matter of course, a large increase in the quantity of grain produced will naturally follow. Up to the present time, and even this season, the increase will not be so appreciable as will be the case a couple of years hence. As yet but a comparatively small proportion of the land taken up has been actually cultivated. The selectors have been hitherto busily engaged in fencing, clearing, and erecting their dwellings; but the next year or two will see nearly all the selections under crop. This year the yield has been generally poor; but even with this there will be amply sufficient wheat to supply our wants, and when, as will be the case in a short time, the annual yield is largely increased, the question will arise, "What is to be done with the surplus?" It must either be shipped to foreign markets, or an additional demand must be created at home. The latter is the only true and politic solution of the difficulty. It will not be long before we shall be raising sufficient for thousands more than our present population numbers, and not only shall we have food for them, but we shall have work also. All through the country the general cry is for more labour—more hands to work, more mouths to feed; and I am satisfied that if during the coming session a judicious scheme of immigration be devised and actively carried out, Victoria will see quite as prosperous, if not even more prosperous times, than during the early days of the gold-fields. There will not be that whirl of excitement, or the squandering of hundreds of pounds in a day, but there will be a permanent and substantial prosperity far more beneficial to the colony, and far more conducive to its progress.

The agitation for a reduction of the rent paid to the Government has, apparently, taken but small hold upon the selectors under the 42nd clause. Most of them are content with the terms upon which they occupy the land; and even these who are engaged in the agitation scarcely attempt to defend it, but content themselves with saying that if there is to be any reduction, or if a portion of the rent is to go as purchase-money, why, of course, they may as well take advantage of it; and, therefore, they help the cause—or the "swindle," as it is more generally termed—along. There are, however, some anomalies in connexion with the rent paid under the 42nd clause which require remedying. Those who first took up small sections near the gold-fields have, as a rule, very inferior land, and are paying a far higher rental than these who subsequently took advantage of the fresh regulations, and secured comparatively large areas of really good agricultural country. The rent charged is for any quantity under ten acres, £2 per annum; from ten acres to twenty, £4; over twenty, £6 10s.; over forty, £9; and from sixty to eighty acres, £11 10s. per annum. Some of the small selectors, therefore, who took up but a few acres, have for the last three or four years been paying from 6s. up to 10s. per acre a year rent, and in this way have actually paid already far more than the land is worth. It appears to me that by "far the fairest plan would be to charge a uniform rental of from 2s. 6d. to 3s. per acre per annum for all land page 36 occupied under the clause. No doubt land varies greatly in value, but it would be a matter of very great difficulty to adjust the rent according to the quality of the soil. Still, although in favour of a uniform rental, I am most decidedly opposed to what is sought by some parties, viz. a uniform upset price of £1 per acre when the land is put up for sale. No doubt some allowance should be made for the expense which the selectors have incurred in clearing heavily-timbered land, but there are thousands of acres occupied under the 42nd clause which were worth from £2 to £5 per acre before a tree was cut down, or a single rood of land ploughed. To sell this at £1 per acre would be simply robbing the revenue. So far as I was able to learn, it is the selectors under the 12th clause who are the prime movers in the endeavour to get rid of their liability to the state. They are, however, unable to produce even a shadow of justification for their demand. In most instances, they have taken up large areas of land, being altogether destitute of the necessary capital to cultivate it. Unlike the 42nders, they have not been content to creep before they could walk, but, with the idea of making a fortune at a hand gallop, they have become involved, and now coolly ask the Government to help them to pay their debts; for that is really what their request amounts to. If they have been imprudent in their speculations, they must, like all other classes, work out their own salvation, or put up with the result and begin again. The man who sinks his money in an unprofitable mine, and the merchant who loses thousands of pounds upon a single cargo of merchandise, do not ask the Government to make good their losses; and it is difficult to see how the agriculturist has any better claim. The 12th clause selectors have the land upon very easy terms, and if they cannot pay the small rental demanded from them, it is because they have been very imprudent, or have entirely mistaken their vocation. I am willing to admit that they have had very bad seasons, but these only form one of these difficulties which, in some shape or another, every person has to encounter. To accept any portion of the rent as part of the purchase money would not only be unjust to the community generally, but would open the door to a repetition of that land swindling which rendered the Duffy Act altogether unworkable, and which led to such disastrous results to the country. I would advise the selectors under the 12th clause to take an example by the 42nders. If they have not means enough to cultivate one hundred acres, let them be content with fifty; and if they cannot manage fifty, let them try twenty. If they only put their own shoulders to the wheel, they will find many of their difficulties disappear, and will occupy a far nobler position than they will if they persist in becoming cringing suppliants to the state.