The great dividing mountain chain of Australia is near the coast-line in the south and east, averaging perhaps a hundred miles or more from the sea. Nearly all the gold which the land has produced has come from the valleys and hillsides of this range. The gold diggings of New South Wales have proved to be very rich in some sections; but unlike those of Queensland and Victoria,—the former six hundred miles north of Sydney, and the latter six hundred miles south of it,—the precious metal is here found mostly in alluvial deposits. A true fissure vein of gold-bearing quartz, as we were informed, has never been found in New South Wales. As a source of pecuniary and lasting income, her coal mines are far more valuable than all the rest of her mineral deposits combined.
Sydney holds high rank as a British colonial city, and deservedly so, having special reason for pride in the complete system of her charitable and educational organizations, her noble public buildings, and the general character of her leading citizens. Land in the town and its vicinity is held at prices averaging as high as in Boston or New York, and the wealth of the people is represented to be very great in the aggregate.
The City Hall, now in course of enlargement, is an admirable structure of stone, grand in its architecture and most substantially constructed. When finished it will equal the Hôtel de Ville of Paris in size, and to our taste surpass it architecturally. It is of the composite order, with bold reliefs and pillared front, its whole effect being in strong contrast to that of St. Andrew's Cathedral in George Street, which is close at hand. The latter is in pure Gothic of the pointed style, and although it is comparatively small, it will rank favorably in its decorations and internal arrangements with any of the lately-built English cathedrals. The view from the open cupola of the City Hall, at a height of about one hundred and fifty feet above the level of George Street, is unusually comprehensive, taking in not only the immediate city on all sides, but also the environs, including the several divisions of the harbor. To the westward, fifteen miles away, lies Parametta, while eastward the heaving breast of the restless Pacific Ocean dies away in the far horizon. From this eyrie one looks down upon the Cathedral, which is a very costly edifice, and was thirty-one years in building,—the funds being frequently exhausted, and money for the purpose difficult to raise. But it now stands as a fine Christian monument of choice design, thoroughly and artistically carried out.
The Post-Office is a very large stone structure surmounted by a tall square tower, rather out of proportion. This building extends over a whole square, or rather fronts upon three streets, embracing ample room for every department of the postal service, including that of the telegraph. The whole building is surrounded on the three sides by lofty pillars of stone, forming a corridor open to the streets, admirably conceived so that the attendant public are at all times under shelter.
Among the other prominent public buildings are the Treasury, the Land Office, and the Colonial Secretary's Office, each four or five stories in height, built of stone, and situated near the shore of the harbor. This is the immediate neighborhood of the Circular Quay at the head of Sydney Cove. This quay has a length of over three thousand feet, and is available for the mooring of the largest steamers that navigate the ocean. Numerous steamships of five thousand tons and upward lay here on the occasion of our visit.
The erection of new buildings is always an evidence of thrift and general prosperity. Much building was observed to be in progress here, mostly large stone edifices designed for business purposes, remarkable for their architectural pretension and the solidity of the mason-work. All this activity gave us the impression of being in the midst of a prosperous, progressive people.
The contrast presented by Sunday compared with the rest of the week was remarkable, the day being one of perfect repose so far as all outward appearances went. The bar-rooms were all closed and every branch of business suspended. The Public Gardens, Public Library, and Art Gallery, however, were all open.
The tramways of Sydney are operated by steam-power, noisy, smoke-dispensing locomotives being in constant use on the main thoroughfares where tramways are laid. Two or more passenger-cars are run coupled together, stopping at certain designated points for passengers, say at the end of every other block, and nowhere between stations either to take up or set down passengers. Flag-men are placed at what are considered to be extra-hazardous crossings, and we were told that accidents seldom occur, except through the carelessness of the passengers; but that there was constant and imminent risk caused by these steam-cars was perfectly manifest. A woman was run over and fatally injured, so that she died on the same day in the hospital, while we were in the city. Of course it was represented to have been the victim's own fault; but we beg leave to differ from this decision, and to ascribe the blame to those who first permitted the introduction of so dangerous a motor into the crowded streets of a large city.
Labor combinations, labor "unions," as they are called, have proved very disastrous in Sydney to all concerned, but more especially to the laboring classes themselves. General enterprise in several departments of mechanical labor is seriously impeded. Men well inclined and able to work for fair wages are not permitted to do so, the "unions" terrorizing them into obedience to their ill-conceived and arbitrary rules, though wages are about double what they are in England, and as high as in this country. The consequence is that the street-corners and bar-rooms are crowded with idlers and vicious men, half driven to despair by their own folly, who somehow find money for beer and rum if not for bread for their suffering families. There is ample and remunerative employment for all independent men, but those who prefer to be led by others rather than to think and act for themselves must pay the penalty. The laborer of to-day if thrifty, industrious, and sober becomes the employer of to-morrow, and as soon as a man is possessed of land or other real property he begins to complain of the want of hands to carry on the same, and to look upon the whole subject of labor and capital in a more reasonable light. That the real interests of both are entirely mutual is perfectly obvious to the intelligent mind, and those designing agitators who strive to array one against the other are emissaries of ill-omen.
Laborers were asking for work from the Government officials when we were in Sydney, and demanding high wages with circumscribed hours. Such were told that there was employment for all who would seek it inland, upon the farms and plantations, where indeed the great drawback was the want of able hands; but the naturally idle and dissipated will always crowd to populous centres. Agriculture is taking its place as the main industry of the country, and if people who are now asking for aid from the Government in these colonies would go inland and seek occupation, independent of all hampering "union" connections, they would promote their own interest and the best good of their adopted country.