Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/178

 ,52 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY The Railway-BuiWers January 29 the Land Bill was finally disposed of. On the following day Parliament was prorogued, and soon afterwards the twelve-months' interregnum of Lieutenant-Colonel Hamley came to an end. Under this new Act, as previously, land was sold by auction, but it provided for the proclamation of agricultural areas, the lands of which were open for selection. Where more than one application was lodged, possession was decided by lot. No selector was permitted to purchase more than 640 acres, and the price was not to be lower than £1 per acre. In case land was not selected within two years, it was sold by auction. The selector was required to deposit 20 per cent., which was considered as four years' interest paid in advance. Certain improvements were to be made, and conditions of occupation were demanded. Thus, instead of paying £4 or ^5 for his land, the farmer could obtain it at a little over £1, and on moderate terms of credit. From the time that the new Act came into force in 1869 to December, 1882, the average i>rice paid the Government for lands was £1 6s. lod., hence securing is. 4d. more per acre to the Government than previously. Later, in 1869, an Amending Act extended the term of credit and reduced the amount of interest to be paid in advance. The interest was further reducexl in 1870-1 ; then, in 1872, the Strangways Act was repealed, although the principle of sale on credit and by selection was retained. While the Strangways Act led to dummyism and to the acquisition of large estates through the medium of sham purchasers, it introduced an era of expansion and prosperity, which was reflected as much in the city as in the country. Large areas were taken up by farmers, and soon their mingled output added enormously to local wealth. Country previously occupied as a sheepwalk was broken by the plough, and the change was followed by a series of rich harvests. Unfortunately, the latter so encouraged farmers that they went to more remote territory, and selected land unfit for agricultural purposes, the unhappy results of which have been abundantly demonstrated in recent droughts. Under the reform inaugurated by Strangways Act the rich northern agricultural areas were taken up by farmers ; new towns and ports sprang into existence, and the population was largely increased. South Australia thenceforth became more than ever a grain-producing country. The area cultivated in 1868-9 was 808,234 acres, of which 533,035 acres were under wheat, producing 5,173,970 bushels; the land cultivated in 1876-7 represented 1,828,115 acres, or more than double the area of eight years previously. The export of breadstufifs in 1875 amounted to ;ii^ 1,680, 996. The pastoralist did not seriously suffer. From 70,829 horses, 123,820 cattle, and 3,038,356 sheep in the Province in 1866, the number by 1876 had increased to 106,903 horses, 219,441 cattle, and 6,133,291 sheep, the number of sheep lx;ing doubled. The export of wool in 1875 amounted to ;^i,833,5i9. The staple exports had increased to ^4,427,727 in value (copper yielding substantial returns), and the revenue to ^1,311,925. The population, from 163,452 in 1866, rose to 237,481 in 1877.