Personal Recollections of Early Melbourne and Victoria | Page 3

say, a complete counterbalance to the increasing
infirmities of years. Imagine, therefore, the Australian liner of the next
few years to be a great and comfortable hotel, as though one went for
three weeks' fresh sea air to Brighton or Bournemouth, with the
additional charm that, on quitting your pleasant marine apartments, you
stepped out upon Australia.
This brings up yet another subject. When attending, four years ago, the

very successful and most interesting meeting of the British Association
at Montreal, I was very curious as to the possible prospect, now that
this body had made so good a first outside step, of a like meeting in
Australia. But, not very long after, an invitation to the Association was
actually sent from Melbourne. The year asked for had been
pre-engaged for Home. My distinguished friend, Mr. Service, told me,
when on his late Home visit, that no doubt the invitation would go
again. I may usefully mention here that the Association is usually
engaged, or as good as engaged, two clear years in advance, so that the
third year, at least, in advance should be dealt with for Melbourne. This
besides would afford sufficient notice for the busy men of all classes
and all vocations at Home to arrange conveniently for the necessarily
long absence. I do not doubt of complete success. Indeed, it is such a
further chance as that which might tempt even the oldest of us into
visiting the far-off but bright and sunny South.
MR. FROUDE'S "OCEANA."
I feel that my introductory medley would still be incomplete if I did not
allude, somewhat more than I have already done, to Mr. Froude's
recently published "Oceana," a work which, in its vigour and high
literary style, marks quite an era in its Australian field. I had regretted
before embarking that, from the pressure of other things, my
acquaintance with it had been limited to the reading of many reviews
and the hearing of much criticism. But I have been well compensated
by a perusal during the peace and ample leisure of this long voyage. I
must confine my remarks to two points only, which, however, are
amongst the most prominent in the book. These are--first, the terms in
which he has alluded to the present condition of New Zealand; and,
second, his ardently loyal remarks, so often repeated, upon that rising
question of the day, the political unity of the empire--a subject which
had been advanced at the time into a most significant importance to the
Australian colonies by the apparent imminence of war with Russia.
NEW ZEALAND.
I am not inclined to repeat the scolding which, it is understood, my
zealous friend, Sir Francis Bell, Agent-General for New Zealand, under
his high sense of duty, administered to the brilliant author of "Oceana"
for this sole dark spot of his book. I see no sufficient cause. On the
contrary, he has given us such a charming account of the aspects and

prospects of this, the most magnificent of our colonies--for I agree with
him in believing that it is to be "the future home of the greatest nation
of the Pacific"--that certain loose or inaccurate words addressed to him
about the finances, and which he had deemed worth recording, may
well be expected to have in comparison the most evanescent effect.
"One gentleman," he says, "amused me considerably with his views,"
the said views being to the effect that New Zealand would be ready,
when the final pressure came, to repudiate her heavy public debt.
Another equally vivacious informant stated that, besides the 32 million
pounds of colonial borrowing, "the municipal debts were at least as
much more as the national debt." Now this is six times overstated for
municipal and harbour debts together. No doubt the actual case is bad
enough, for New Zealand has far over-borrowed. But as to repudiation,
there is not a hint or notion of it in any responsible quarter whatever,
any more than with regard to our British Consols, although the colony
is, for the time, in the extremity of a depression, ever recurrent in such
young, fast-going societies, caused by a continuous subsiding of
previous too-speculative values. To this I may add, in reference to the
smaller issues of colonial municipalities, that of the very great number
of these, New Zealand's included, brought for many years past upon the
London market, there is not, in my recollection, as a matter of my own
business, one single instance of default, as to either principal or interest,
if we except the sole and quite special and temporary case, above thirty
years ago, of the city of Hamilton, in Upper Canada.
UNITY OF THE EMPIRE.
This question has been in a course of rapid clearing during the last few
years, and the successful establishment of