Page:Victoria, with a description of its principal cities, Melbourne and Geelong.djvu/69

, south, and south-westerly winds; and by the mountains from the northern winds, which are extremely cold in winter, and a sirocco in summer. Its only exposure is to the mild and gentle breezes of the Pacific Ocean. This region, as a producer of sub-tropical plants, is evidently destined to perform a great part in the industrial history of Victoria.

Previous to the time of which we write, the greater portion of the lands above described, tracts free from timber and capable of depasturage, have been more or less occupied by squatters. This term is used as the most aristocratic one in the colony, the greater portion of them being emigrants possessed of capital, of enterprising character, and of respectable families, from the mother country. Even at the present moment, notwithstanding the large fortunes made by many others at the Gold Fields, they form by far the wealthiest portion of the community, and hold a more prominent position from the advantages of birth and education. Victoria is, therefore, justly considered as a colony possessing the purest extraction of the Anglo-Saxon race. And, although it has happened that during the wild mania of emigration, after the discovery of the Gold Fields, thousands of every nation and class flocked to its shores, still, the foundation being so English in character, and the squatters holding possession of such immense tracts of country, we may reasonably hope that they and their principles will still