Indebtedness Grown Faster than Population or Production.

From the examination which we have made of the growth of Australasian population and production, it is clear that neither has kept pace with the growth of Australasian indebtedness, This statement seems to be true of every one of the colonies individually as well as of the whole collectively, though of course in a varying degree. While we can give the increase that has page 25 taken place in the amount of the public debt during the past fifteen years for each separate colony, it is a serious, really an impossible, task to estimate with accuracy the extent of the farther indebtedness arising from the large importations of new capital through banks, mortgage institutions, companies, minea, &c. In the aggregate of indebtedness Victoria certainly takes the first place, and New South Wales the second. The enormous importations of new capital into Victoria during recent years make that colony easily first. Still, to estimate closely the respective totals for the two colonies named cannot be undertaken with the data available, and the apportionment among the seven colonies of the £400,000,000, at which we placed the minimum indebtedness to Great Britain, will not be attempted.