Page:Victoria, with a description of its principal cities, Melbourne and Geelong.djvu/182

 Let us now look at California: although we have reason to hope that one of the elements of disorder will be subdued, yet the American journals abound with instances of lawless violence, and tales of savage customs unknown in Australia; and though we have been at some pains to portray the dark side of the picture, yet we rejoice to be able in these, our concluding remarks, to show that the good and the bright still predominate; nor have we any fear that the society, established on the fundamental basis of freedom and truth, will ever decline from the bright path on which it has entered.

To carry out our original intention, and in order to give the general reader a correct knowledge of the present state of Victoria in every particular, it is necessary for us to give a few extracts from the latest journals and authentic reports received within the past month from Australia.

Relative to the exports of Victoria, Mr. Westgarth, in his valuable work on its Commerce and Statistics, thus writes:—"In this particular we have far surpassed all other countries of our empire, excepting only the larger of those great territories of the east—themselves empires rather than colonies—the Indian Presidencies. In the proportion of exports to the population, Victoria surpasses everything. An estimate for the last four years gives the average of £46 for every head of the colonial population. This estimate, too, is framed only upon the official valuation of the exports;