Thus He Lost Nearly A
Fourth Of His Capital, And Victoria A Family Who Would Have Made Good
Colonists.
Much is done now-a-days to assist emigration, but far greater exertions
are needed before either the demand for labour in the colonies or the
over-supply of it in England can be exhausted.
Pass down the best
streets of Melbourne: you see one or two good shops or houses, and on
either side an empty spot or a mass of rubbish. The ground has been
bought, the plans for the proposed budding are all ready. Then why not
commence? - there are no workmen. Bricks are wanted, and 15 pounds a
thousand is offered; carpenters are advertized for at 8 pounds a week; yet
the building makes no progress - there are no workmen. Go down towards the
Yarra, and an unfinished Church will attract attention. Are funds wanting
for its completion? No. Thousands were subscribed in one day, and would
be again were it necessary; but that building, like every other, is
stopped for lack of workmen. In vain the bishop himself published an
appeal to the various labourers required offering the very highest
wages; others offered higher wages still, and the church (up to the
time I left Victoria) remained unfinished. And yet, whilst labour
is so scarce, so needed in the colonies, there are thousands in our own
country ABLE AND WILLING TO WORK, whose lives here are one of prolonged
privation, whose eyes are never gladdened by the sight of nature, who
inhale no purer atmosphere than the tainted air of the dark courts and
dismal cellars in which they herd. Send them to the colonies - food and
pure air would at least be theirs - and much misery would be turned into
positive happiness.
I heard of a lady who every year sent out a whole family from
the poor but hard-working classes to the colonies (it was through one
of the objects of her thoughtful benevolence that this annual act
became known to me), and what happiness must it bring when she reflects
on the heartfelt blessings that are showered upon her from the far-off
land of Australia. Surely, among the rich and the influential, there
are many who, out of the abundance of their wealth, could "go and do
likewise."
THE END.
End of A Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852-53, by Mrs. Charles (Ellen) Clacy
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