(No. 18.) 18 6 4. TASMAN I A. LANDS OF TASMANIA. REPORT BY THE SURVEYOR-GENERAL. Laid upon the Table by Mr. Colonial Treasurer, and ordered by the House to he printed, 29 June, I 864. LANDS OF TASTh1ANIA; . COMPILED FROM THE OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE SURVEY DEPARTMENT, DY ORDER OF THE HONORABLE THE COLONIAL TREASURER. Made up to the 31st December, 1862. '««f,man ta: JAMES BARNARD, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, HOBART TOWN. 186 4. T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S. PAGE PREFACE •••••••••• , • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 3 Area of Tasmania, with alienated and unalienated Lands . • . • • • • . • . 17 Population of Tasmania ...............••..• ,........................... ib. Ditto of Towns . • • . • • • . • . • . • . • • . • . ] 8 Country Lands granted and sold since 1804 ..• , • • • • . • • • • • . • • • . • . • • • • • . 19 Town· Lands sold . • • • • • . • . • . • • • • • . • • • . • . • • • . • . • . 20 'fown Lands sold for Cash under " The Waste Lands Act" ·• . • • • • • • • • • • . • . 21 Deposits forfeited- on ditto •.••• , . • . • • • . • • . • • • . • . • . .. • . • . • • . • 40 Town Lands sold on Credit . • • • . • . • • • • . • • . • • • • . • . • . • . • • • • 42 Agricultural Lands sold for Cash, under 18th Sect. of" The Waste Lands Act". 45 Ditto on Credit, ditto .•.•• , • . • • • • . • . • . • . • • • • • . • . • • • . • • • • . • . 46 Ditto for Cash, under 19th Sect. of" The Waste Lands Act" • . • . 49 Ditto on Credit, ditto . • . • • • • • • • • • . • . • . • . • . • • • • • • • • • . 51 Ditto for Cash at Public Auction •••••............• : ••.•••., • • • • • • . • . 62 Deposits forfeited on ditto. • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • 64 Agricultural Lands soid on Credit at Public A.uotiim . • • • • • • • . • • • • . • . 65 Pastoral Lands sold for Cash~ under 18th Sect. of" The Waste Lands A.et" . • . • 71 Ditto on Credit, ditto.. • • • • • • . • . • • • • • • • • • • . • • • . • • • • . • . • . • . • . • • • . • ib. Ditto for Cash at Public Auction. • . • . • • • . • . • • • . • • . • • • • 73 Deposits forfeited on ditto •.••....•...•....••., • , • • . • • • . • • • . • . • . • . 74 Pastoral Lands sold on Credit at Public Auction . • • • . • • • • • • . • . • ih. Pastoral, Agricultural, and Town Lands sold, distinguishing years • . • • • • • • • • 77 Ditto, showing amounts received and amounts still due.. • • • • . • . • . • ib. Lands sold since the passing of " The Waste Lands Act," and amount ·realised.. • ib. Lands granted under 2nd Sect. of" The Waste_ Lands Act".................. 78 Transfars • • • . • • . • • • . • • • . • . • • . • • . • • • . • . • • . • • . • • • 79 Lands .Paid up for under the Pre-emptive Right Regulations of 1851, with Areas tied up under the Quiet Enjoyment Clause by each Lot........... • . • ib. Ditto, not paid for ...• ·••.••. , ..........•.....•.•.• . • . • • • • . • . 83 Total Debts due on Pre-emptive Right Selections, distinguishing years • • • • • • • • 88 Total Debt due on all Crown Lands sold up to 31st December, 1862 . • ib. Debt of Colony secured on LanJ Fund up to 31st December, 1862............ ib. JIIEMORANDUl\f. THES!l Returns were compiled by J. E. Calder, Surveyor-Geueral, aud Messrs. H. E. Smith, H. J. Hull, and Alexander Reid, of the Survey Department. Survey Office, July, 1863. Sm,. I HAVE the honor of presenting to you a paper relating to the Agricultural Trade of Tasmania, which I have written as a fitting preface for a revised edition of the Official Pamphlet which is prepared in this office, namely, The Lands of Tasmania, now ready for publication. It will be found to contain much information of interest to our farmers and exporters of agricultural produce. And, to make it as complete as I could, I have appended several Tables to it, compiled from the most reliable records at command, all of them either directly or remotely illus- trative of this trade. ' I will commence by stating that, in dealing with the subjects referred to in this paper, I have not thought it advisable to select any particular year for results wherewith to. illustrate them; but have taken a series, which I consider to be the only fair and reliable way of treating tht>m~ In the first Table, marked A, where the fe1;tility of the agricultural soils of Tasmania is com­ pared with those of other Colonies, I have gone back from 1861 to 1858; which is quite enough for the purpo_ses of comparison. ' Table B, whose design is to show the extent of our trade in farm and forest produce with the principal Colonies we deal with, is spread over three years; which are enough to let the farmer and merchant see what may be the increase or declension of demand for any particular article. In those portions of the Table that have reference to our trade with New South Wales and Victoria in the years 1860 and 1861, I have taken my information from their own Returns, believing them to be more reliable than ours are. This course I would also have adopted in treating of our trade with New Zealand; but her commercial reGords are very clumsily got up, and bear, moreover, such un­ mistakable marks of inaccuracy that l have adopted our own in their stead. The last-named ones have also been used for all three Colonies for last y,ear, for the simple reaso_n that there are none others at present 'in the Colony to refer to. Table C shows our trade in farm and forest produce with all countries for the same years as those used in Table B, and is necessarily drawn up from our own returns; as it is not possible to get a statement of our entire exports and imports from any other source that I know of. 'l'he object of this Table is to show what proportion of the national income is derived from the soil; which I shall have pre­ sently to use to enforce my arguments on the subject of improving our internal communications, without which our agriculture can never flourish. Table D illustrates the trade in stock that is carried on by New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania; which is far more considerable than most persons have any idea of, as regards the two first-named Colonies. This Table, besides being designed for general information, is also meant to show that Tasmania does not stand alone in the non-increase of her sheep, which is common to all three. Table Eis a Five-years' Return of the wool trade of all the Southern Colonies (Swan River excepted), which has been compiled, not only for the purposes of general information, but to ascertain the weight of the fleece yielded by each Colony as proved by the exports of five consecutive years. The results thus ascertained should be satisfactory to the landqwner and flockmaster of Tasmania, by showing him that the wool-producing qualities of his pastures are good when measured by the standard of those of other Colonies, · It will be observed of Table A, that hardly any information is to be had of the tillage of 'New Zealand; the official statistics of that Colony being remark ably silent thereon. I have, however, thrown into the Table the very little matter that is to be extracted from them. 4 It will appear from this Table that the farmers of none of the Colonies of the South are now so successful as our own are in the growth of the five principal crops raised in the Australias, namely­ barley, oats, wheat, hay, and potatoes. In Tasmania the yield of that very exhausting crnp, pota­ toes, has always been greater than that of any of the places named in the Table ; and though our farmers, five years ago, were a good deal behind those of some of the other countries, particularly in the growth of barley and oats, this is now no longer the case. Bot.h New South Wales and South Australia are greatly behind Tasmania, but Victoria treads very closely on her heels in every thing except bay and potatoes. With regard to areas in cultivation, South Anstralia takes the lead of all the Colonies. The area of her tilled lands, if divided among·st her population, gives to each of them three roods .and twenty-six perches more than Tasmania has; but her soils must he either poor or exhausted, as the yield of no single crop is comparable with ours. In barley she is behind us by more than seven bushels the acre; in oats by very nearly six; and iii wheat by twelve and a half exactly. Of hay she produced twelve and a half cwts. les~, and of potatoes forty-two cwts. less per acre. This was in 1861. Neither New South Wales nor Victoria has an acre a head in tillage; and so long as this con­ tinues to be the case they must be considerable importers of the articles enumerated in the Table. Table Bis an exposition of our trade in farm produce, &c. with those countries with which we have our largest transactions, namely-Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand. Commencing with Victoria, the trade is much in our favour, whether judged of by quantities interchanged or by the more doubtful figures which are supposed to represent the money valne of that trade. Quantities, I may observe, may be g·enerally relied on (even though our own Returns and those of New Zealand are not very perfect in this respect) ; but it is a well-known fact that the "declared values" in the official Returns are very arbitrarily affixed. The quantity column shows that our export trade with this great Colony is on the wane as regards oats and onions, and generally of forest produce; but in orchard produce, hay and potatoes, butter and some other articles, our sales are increasing. Looking· at the other side of the Table, our imports from Victoria are three or four times less than our exports thereto. These imports of ours are chiefly of live stock, without which the Victorian account against us would be almost nil. I do not think that our export trade with New South Wales can be considered a declining one, even though the money value as affixed at the Custom House appears against us. Certain it is that there has been a greatly increased demand there for every article of farm produce, except potatoes, since 1861, and very generally since 1860. Our timber trade also seems to hold its ground very well in this market, even though there are doubtless some omissions in the official statement.of this branch of our iradc.