The Land of the Kangaroo Part 21

"We are treading on dangerous ground," replied the doctor, "as it is not prudent for a traveler in foreign lands to talk politics; but as we are quite by ourselves, we may be permitted to discuss the subject a little.

Victoria, as you are aware, is an offshoot from the colony of New South Wales, from which it was separated in August, 1851. I don't know anything about the matter, but presume that the origin of the differences in tariffs between the two colonies grew out of the opposition of the new to the old. There has always been a great deal of jealousy between them, and as New South Wales had a free trade policy, it was the most natural thing in the world that the jealous young colony of Victoria should adopt a protection one. In each of the colonies there is a strong party opposed to its tariff policy; in Victoria there is a goodly number of free-traders, while in New South Wales there is an equally good number of protectionists. Whatever a man's views are, in regard to free trade or protection, it is generally useless to attempt to change them by argument; and if he is a skilled debater, he can give you facts and figures to demonstrate, with great clearness, the correctness of his views. On that point I can tell you what was to me an amusing story."

"What was that?"

"Several years ago, when the financial authorities of the two colonies had made their annual reports, the two doc.u.ments were taken by a free trade writer for an English magazine, and out of them, by the use of the figures and facts that they contained, there was constructed an admirable article, demonstrating, with great clearness, the advantages of free trade in New South Wales. Almost simultaneously in an American newspaper appeared a similar article, drawn from the same facts and figures, which demonstrated with equal clearness and with equal conclusiveness the advantages of protection in Victoria. There was not a weak point in either of the articles, and the curious thing was that they were drawn from the same sources. Each writer showed that the colony whose tariff policy he had favored was far more prosperous than the other, and was making progress steadily, while the other was running behind."

"It's pretty much the same in our own country, is it not?" queried Harry. "It seems to me that I have read articles in the New York _Tribune_ and the New York _Evening Post_ that were flatly contradictory of each other on the subject of the tariff."

"Yes; that is quite likely the case, as both of the papers you name are ready to debate the subject, and it is evident that the writers upon both sides of the question believe what they say. I don't think it worth our while to enter into the abstract question here, and so we'll drop it for something else. You are aware, I presume, that we have to make a change of train at the frontier on account of the different gauges of the railways of the two colonies."

"Yes, sir, I was aware of that," said Harry; "one track is six inches wider than the other."

"Yes; that is another indication of the hostility between the two colonies. When the railway between Sydney and Melbourne was projected, it was impossible for the opposing interests to agree upon a uniform track for the whole distance, and consequently each colony did as it chose. The result was, that the Victorian line was of one gauge, and that of New South Wales of another. Neither pa.s.senger nor freight cars can run through from one city to the other, but all pa.s.sengers and freight must be transferred at the frontier."

"Let me call your attention to another thing while we are on the subject of colonial disagreements," the doctor remarked. "Each of the colonies has its own postal system and each its own postage stamp. In New South Wales, a Victorian stamp would be of no use, any more than would a British postage stamp in the United States Post-office. You can prepay letters from one colony to the other in the stamps of the colony where you happen to be, but if you post a letter in Sydney with a Victorian stamp upon it, I am afraid it would go to the dead letter office, just as if it had borne no stamp at all."

"What a pity it is," said Harry, "that the colonies cannot reconcile their differences and come together."

"You are not the first one, by any means, who has thought so," was the reply. "Statesmen have been for a considerable time discussing the question of a federation of all the colonies in the same way that the British American colonies are federated. Federation would have been accomplished long ago, at least it is so claimed by the others, had it not been for New South Wales, which stands aloof from the rest princ.i.p.ally on account of the tariff question. All the other colonies are in favor of the protection of home industries, while New South Wales, as before stated, favors a free trade policy. I saw, while in Melbourne, a cartoon representing several young women standing in a circle. All were dressed in white and wreathed with roses, and the various members of the circle were marked with the names of Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, and West Australia.

A little in the background, and leaning against the wall with one finger in her mouth as though she were angry, was a young woman dressed in black, and labeled 'New South Wales.' The others were evidently trying, but without success, to induce her to join the circle.

"I presume," he continued, "that federation will come in time, and an Australian gentleman told me the other day that he believed it would be a step towards independence. He thought, as do many other Australians, that the long distance from the mother country and their diversity of interests would tend, as the years go on, to weaken the bonds between Great Britain and her Australian colonies, and that separation would be sure to come. The colonies realize their great danger in case Great Britain should become involved in a foreign war, and especially with a power possessing a powerful navy. The colonies have a military force on the volunteer system, which could no doubt do efficient service in time of war. The British government maintains a certain number of wars.h.i.+ps in Australian waters, but neither they nor the volunteer troops provided by the colonies would be of much avail against a powerful force sent here by a first-cla.s.s power."

There was further conversation upon various topics of which we have no record, and in due course of time the train reached Wodonga, the frontier terminus of the line. It halted a few minutes in the station, and then moved on to Albury, in New South Wales, crossing the Murray River on an iron bridge; Harry remarking, as they did so, that it was the same Murray, though not the same bridge, that they crossed between Adelaide and Melbourne.

Harry learned, on inquiry, that the railway line from Melbourne reached Wodonga in 1873, but the line from Sydney did not arrive at the northern bank of the Murray until eight years later. There were disagreements between the management of the two concerns, so that for three years the ends of the two railway lines were not brought together. Pa.s.sengers were transferred by coaches or omnibuses, and baggage and freight by wagons, between Wodonga and Albury, a distance of two miles. At last, however, the quarrels came to an end. A bridge was built, the lines of railway were completed, and since then everything has been harmonious.

Pa.s.sengers from New South Wales cross the river in the train by which they have arrived, and alight in the station at Wodonga. Pa.s.sengers from Victoria cross the river, and make their change of cars on the territory of New South Wales in the Albury station.

After the custom-house examination was concluded, and it was by no means severe, our friends found a fairly good hotel where they put up for the night. Then they took a carriage and drove around the town, which was evidently a prosperous one, and had the usual paraphernalia of public inst.i.tutions, such as churches, hospitals, jail, town hall, etc. It is said to be the home and the place of business of a considerable number of smugglers, whose occupation is invited by the long frontier line which separates Victoria from New South Wales. A resident of Albury, with whom our friends fell into conversation, admitted that a good deal of smuggling was carried on there, and added that it would take the whole male population of Victoria to guard the frontier efficiently. Of course, smuggling, like the same business everywhere else, relates chiefly to goods where high values can be included in small parcels. No one would think it worth his while to smuggle bulky articles of small value, since it would not pay to carry them long distances on men's backs, as most of the smuggled articles are carried.

Albury stands on the bank of the Murray River, five hundred and thirty-one feet above the sea; it is about three hundred miles from the source of that stream, and six hundred above its mouth. During the rainy season, when the Murray is at its height, steamers run up to Albury, but ordinarily the river is not navigable to that place. As our friends drove along the edge of the stream, below the two bridges which span it, they saw a small steamboat tied up at the bank, and having an appearance of idleness about it. They stopped the carriage for a few moments to inspect the boat, and found that it had been left there by a sudden fall of the river, and was waiting for the next flood to come.

"It is a very light draft steamboat," said Harry in his notebook; "and makes me think of those they talk about in the western part of the United States, that can run on a heavy dew, or where a man goes ahead of them with a sprinkling pot. It is a side-wheel boat, the wheels being very large, but not dipping far into the water. The engine seems rather small for such a large pair of wheels, but I suppose the boat was not built for speed so much as for general utility. She has a saloon over the engines, with cabins opening out of it, and there are quarters on the main deck for the officers and crew. The rooms in the upper cabin are intended for pa.s.sengers, and as there are only ten of them on each side, you can readily understand that the accommodations are limited.

They told me that the steamer was built at one of the towns lower down the river, her engines having been made in Adelaide, and brought overland to the place where the hull was constructed. They also told me that the first steamer which ever ascended the Murray was named the _Albury_, and arrived in the year 1855. I infer, from the name of the boat, that it was owned by people living here, but on that point my informant was unable to say anything definite."

When the party returned to the hotel for dinner, they were regaled with a fish which was new to them. At Melbourne they had fish from the sea almost daily, but when visiting the cattle and sheep stations they had none at all, for the reason that no fish were to be obtained in those localities, and it would be an expensive matter to bring them there from the sea with the strong probability of their being unfit for eating at the time of their arrival. As they were not looking for fish in any inland town, they naturally inquired what it was before them.

"That is the Murray cod, sir, or cod-perch, as we call it," said the waiter, in reply to Ned's question. "It is a fish caught in the Murray River, and I think you'll like it, gentlemen."

They did like it, all three of our friends p.r.o.nouncing it quite toothsome. It is a fish somewhat resembling the American perch, both in appearance and in taste, and probably belongs to the same family.

Australia is poorly supplied with fresh water fishes. Many of the lakes contain no fish whatever, and the few that are found there are poor eating. There are trout in the mountainous districts, but they are not numerous. Attempts have been made to stock the rivers with European salmon, carp, and other food fishes, but thus far the experiments have not been especially successful. Once in a while a fisherman catches a small salmon in one of the streams, and paragraphs concerning his performance are circulated far and wide in the newspapers. The habit of most of the Australian rivers of running dry at certain portions of the year is a serious discouragement to the industry of fish culture.

At Albury our friends found themselves in one of the mountainous districts of Australia. Mount Kosciusco, the highest peak in Australia, was not far away, though not visible from the town, but other mountain peaks were in sight of the place. Kosciusco is not a very high mountain, as mountains go, as its summit is only 7,308 feet above the level of the sea. It is quite picturesquely situated, forming one of a group of several mountains, and the journey to its summit is by no means an easy matter.

Athletic young men, with a fondness for adventure, occasionally make up parties for an excursion to the top of the mountain, and if the weather is good they come back with their spirits high, their shoes or boots well worn, and their clothing more or less damaged. Traveling facilities are limited, and anybody who climbs Mount Kosciusco must expect to "rough it." The town nearest to the mountain is Tumberumba, and the excursion is made partly on horseback and partly on foot. It is forty miles from Tumberumba to the mountain, and in order to reach that town it is necessary to travel by coach a distance of seventy-four miles, from Calcairn, which is the nearest station on the railway.

Travelers who have visited Switzerland before going to Australia say that the region around Mount Kosciusco is quite Alpine in character, as it has deep gorges and ravines, and the streams plunge for long distances over precipitous rocks. The Murray River takes its rise among these mountains, and a great contrast is offered between the country around its head waters and that through which it flows in the latter part of its course. The country is too rough around these mountains for sheep and cattle stations. There is a considerable amount of tillable land among them, which is princ.i.p.ally devoted to the growing of oats and wheat.

At their appointed time, our friends proceeded by train in the direction of Sydney. They found the railway running for much of the way through a mountainous region, some of it very mountainous indeed. The railway engineering on many parts of the route evoked their admiration, and certainly it deserves a great deal of praise. There are numerous tunnels on the way, gorges and ravines are traversed by bridges high up in the air, and nowhere in the world can be found better examples of engineering skill in mountain work. A gentleman who was in the carriage with them said they would find equally good work on the western line of railway, the one on which they were traveling being the southern.

"The range of mountains that winds around the whole coast of Australia,"

said the gentleman, "has made our railways cost us very dearly. To go any distance at all into the interior, we had to traverse the mountains, and for a long time it was believed that it would be absolutely impossible to get through them. The first railway line in New South Wales was surveyed about 1847, and ground for it was broken in July, 1850. The obstacles which the Blue Mountains presented r.e.t.a.r.ded the work very much, but finally, after they were pa.s.sed, we got along well enough. You will see for yourself how difficult they were."

"From what we had already seen," wrote Harry, "we fully agreed with the gentleman in his statement, and were not surprised to learn that the engineers were considerably discouraged when they began their work.

After a pause, he described to us some of the interesting points of the western line, as it is called, and said he hoped we would be able to make a journey over that part of the railway system of New South Wales.

He a.s.sured us that we would never regret it, and that we would see some of the most magnificent sights to be obtained anywhere in railway travel.

"When you have crossed the crest of the Blue Mountains," the gentleman continued, "you will see a piece of railway engineering which has never been undertaken, as far as I know of, anywhere else in the world."

"What is that?" one of the party asked.

"It is the accomplishment of a feat that has always been disastrous in every other part of the globe, that of two trains pa.s.sing each other on a single track."

"It certainly results in disaster as far as I have ever known," Dr.

Whitney answered. "I have never heard of two trains trying to pa.s.s each other on a single track without both of them coming to grief."

"Well, you know that Australia is a land of contradictions," was the reply; "and why shouldn't we be contradictory in this as well as many other things? The way we perform this trick is this:--

"The railway climbs the mountain by means of zigzags, running first one way, and then the other, and all the time making an ascending grade. At the end of each zigzag the track is prolonged sufficiently to hold two railway trains. When an ascending train sees a descending one coming, the engine driver runs his train to the end of this prolonged track and stops. Then the descending one comes down, runs upon the track, is switched off down the mountain, and the way is then clear for the ascending train to proceed. There is no double track anywhere, and yet the trains have pa.s.sed each other, and safely too."

"Very simple when you know what it is," said Harry, and the others echoed his remark.

When they crossed the Blue Mountains they found the zigzags, readily recognizing them from the description. On seeing the rugged character of the mountains, they were not at all surprised that the engineers were appalled at the difficulties before them. Neither did they wonder that the officers in command of the first convict settlement at Sydney for a long time regarded the Blue Mountains as impa.s.sable, and believed that escaped convicts traveling in that direction would be stopped by this formidable barrier. The Blue Mountains were not crossed and the country beyond them explored until 1813, although the settlement at Sydney was founded in 1788.

Mountain regions are always considered healthy places to live in, and this is especially the case with the region of the Blue Mountains. A fellow-pa.s.senger in the train told our friends that it was a favorite saying in the country that n.o.body ever dies in the Blue Mountains; he simply dries up and disappears. Another pa.s.senger said that once, when a town was founded in the Blue Mountain district, the people wanted to start a graveyard, and took along an elderly man who was in the last stages of consumption. They had agreed to pay his expenses and give him a grand funeral, on the condition that he lived until he reached the site of the town. Not only did he live until he got there, but he continued to live for many years, and finally dried up and blew away.

The people felt that they had been defrauded, and if the man had left anything in the way of property, they would have brought suit for the recovery of damages.

Harry recorded the above anecdote in his notebook, adding to it the words, "Interesting, but of doubtful authenticity."

CHAPTER XVIII.

SIGHTS OF SYDNEY----BOTANY BAY AND PARAMATTA.

After leaving the Blue Mountains behind them, our friends were whirled onward through a more fertile country than the one they had traversed on the western slope. As they approached Sydney, they found the country dotted with pleasant residences and diversified with fields and forest in a very picturesque way. At the appointed hour the train rolled into the station at Sydney, and landed the strangers in that ancient city; ancient from an Australian point of view, as it is the oldest settlement on the island continent, but exceedingly modern when compared with London, Paris, and other European capitals.

As our friends drove in the direction of the hotel where they intended to stay, they were struck by the narrowness of the streets, which seemed to them very narrow indeed, after the wide streets of Melbourne.

Harry wondered how the difference of the streets of the two cities could be accounted for.

"Oh, I understand," said Ned. "Sydney was laid out by an English surveyor, and Melbourne by an American. Being a native of the little island called England, the Britisher felt that he must make the most of the land he had, while the American, coming from his own wide-spreading country, took all the room that he wanted. That's the way of it, I'm sure."

"Well, that will do for an explanation," said Harry, "until we get at the real facts in the case."

"The probabilities are," the doctor remarked, "that as Sydney was originally a convict settlement, the officers that came out in charge of the expedition felt that it should be made as compact as possible for the greater facility of guarding the convicts. In this way the narrowness of the streets may be accounted for."