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The recent elections afforded the free
traders an opportunity of riding their
old hobby of immigration, and they
availed themselves of it in their usual
characteristic fashion of treating large
public questions. Just as they advo
cate a change of fiscal policy without
pointing out what would be the com-
pensating advantage to the industrial
interests of the country, so they advise
the resumption of immigration without
attempting to show where the new
labor element would find employment
when free-trade had destroyed the in
dustries that have been built up under
protection. Tho reason of this is
that both questions are viewed Bolelv
from an importer's stand point, and in
the interests of tho commercial class ex
clusively. The colony is free to as
many persons as choose to come here
by paying their passage money, but we
have ceased to tax ourselves to import
population. "YVhatisdemanded istliat im
migration shall bo resumed at the public
expense. This means that the working
classes, who constitute the bulk of the
population, shall be taxed for something
they do not require, simply because it
would conduce to tho profit of a com-
paratively few people, who do re
quire it. This is, of course, diamet
rically opposed to free-trado principles,
for we arc constantly being told that
protection is tho robbery of the many
for tho benefit of tho few. But your
free-trader never desires to see beyond
liis own immediate interests, and pro-
bably this view of the question lias
never presented itself to him. Let us
then, for argument's sake, concede to
him both free-trade and immigration,
and ascertain how beautifully they
would work in harmony.
It has been admitted that a rever
sal of our fiscal policy would at
this present juncture be disastrous
to tho industries that have been
brought into existence under a pro
tective tariff. In other words, many
manufacturers whose industries are
scarcely yet consolidated would have to
close their doors, and large numbers of
men and women would therefore be
tin-own out of employment. Meanwhile
the shipping trade would receive an
impetus in the revival of foreign im
portations, and every vessel arriving
from Europe, besides bringing boots,
clothing, and various other European-
made articles, would disembark hun
dreds of immigrants to augment
the ranks of the unemployed.
This immigration would increase com
petition in labor, and by reducing the
wage rate to a minimum, would pos
sibly enablo large bouses, such as
Stevenson's and Sakgood's, to con
tinue profitable operations, even under
a free-trade tariff; but at whose cost 1
Why tho workers, who would he
pauperised by such a reduction of wages
as would bring them to a level with
those of the starved operatives of Great
Britain. It is a common argument
with the free-trade advocates of immi
gration that every immigrant is a gain
to the State, inasmuch as he contri
butes to tho general revenue of the
country. This is true only when tbo
industrial condition of a country
places him in a position to contri
bute. When tho State lias to find
labor for its unemployed, and to pay
for such labor out of the public ex
chequer, overy addition to the popula
tion by immigration is an absolute loss.
Free-traders will recoliect one or two
instances in this colony, before our pre
sent manufacturing industries wei-e es
tablished, when the public funds
bad to be thus trenched upon
to save men from starvation,
and wo may well dread a return to a
system that would reduce our working
population once more to this condition.
But, allowing that immigration under
a free-trade tariff did not actually re-
duco us to this position, whom would it
directly benefit f We have said that it
would not benefit the working-classes,
but would impoverish tbem by
the keen competition it would
evoke in all branches of labor.
To the purveyors of food and clothing it
mi<dit bring increased trade, but tbo
larger share of the profits of such trade
would find its way into few pockets,
principally tboso of the importer and
wholesale dealer ; and tho longer such
a system lasted the worse would bo the
results. For a while, as in England,
tho rich would get richer, nnd the poor
poorer. Large fortunes would bo
mado in a little time by tho com
mercial magnates of tbo land, and, like
rats who leave a doomed ship, when
they saw tho colony declining, as it
surely would decline, these gentlemen
would pack up their portmanteaus, and
take their travelling tickets lor Europe.
Although America, as regards its
tariff, is tho bete noir of both English
and colonial free-traders, they fre
quently refer to the prosperity of the
States as being due to the constant in
flux of population from other countries.
Here these short-siglited enthusiasts
totally ignore cause and effect, for
emigration to tho States is duo to its
protective tariff, which is tho great
attraction to British artisans. Tho
American Government pays not a cent
for any emigrant landing in the States ;
but it has made its industrial system a
loadstone to draw them from the work
shops of the old world to lhose of the
new. Public companies certainly givo
grants of private land in the Sates to
those who will go over and make
railroads and. open up distant
parts of the country, and it is quite
competent to any public body in this
colony to act in tho same independent
manner with their own property. Hut
as regards industry and immigration,
our St to system assimilates to that of
the American Government. We have
provided in our fiscal laws a loadstone
to attract both capital and skilled labor
from the old country, and at present tho
law of supply and demand is work:
ing as satisfactorily as we could
wish. If wo look around us to see how
the other Australian colonies arc bene
fiting by immigration, tho prospect is
not so cheering that we need wish to
imitate tho policy they have adopted.
Hew Zealand is giving away the public
estate to secure immigrants, and
its liberality is being abused by persons
taking advantage of its immigrant ships
to get a cheap passage to Australia.
Theatrical companies take passage as
bricklayers, plasterers, and vine-growers,
and upon being offered an engagement
at a Now Zealand port, their qualifica
tions are found to be limited to a know
ledge of the tight ropo or the mysteries
of tho ballet. At Queensland it has
been found that they are getting for
their money the very dregs of Lon
don socioty. In South Australia
the immediate effect of tho first
ship load of immigrants upon the labor
market was to lower tlie wage rate,
without the new arrivals being satis
fied at displacing colonial workmen at
the wages offered them. It is only
class selfishness, and an utter disregard
of general public interests, that induces
the few to demand that tho many shall
be placed under contribution for such
purposes.
Next to cricket tlie game of football is
the most popular pastime in Victoria.
Not only do the players engage with
the greatest ardor, but spectators, both
old and young, evince tho liveliest in
terest in the sport. In fact, each year
the public assemble in larger numbers,
and display increased partisanship and
excitement; far more, indeed, than
when the play was of a less rough cha-
racter, on the principle, we presume,
adopted by the old gentlemen who fol
lowed a wild beast show from town to
town in the hopeof seeing the performing
lion snap off the head of his keeper.
The game is positively dangerous as prac
tised, since the change in tho rules
whereby running with the ball and
holding one another was introduced for
the special benefit of the fleetest pe-
destrians. It is in contemplation, we
understand, by some of the leading
clubs to appoint a committee to revise
the regulations. They cannot do better
than take as their pattern the rules of
the English Football Association,
which approximate very nearly to
those which were in use here formerly.
By .them tho following proceedings are
forbidden under penalty : — " Knocking
on," i.e., propelling tho ball with the
hands or arms, holding or winning
wiili tho ball, holding a player, trip-
ping, pushing with the hands or arms
below tho olbow, or charging from be
hind. Handling the ball, too, is
strictly prohibited, except by the goal
keeper ; and even he is not allowed to
carry it. Thus conducted, football takes
its place amongst the civilised and
skilled pastimes in which tlio modern
Englishman delights and excels.
Here the play is simply bar
barous. and the hero of the hour
is the best slinger and rabbiter. For
the benefit of the uninitiated we give
an explanation of these terms. Slinging
is a comprehensive expression, which
embraces throttling, hugging, and
otherwise impeding tho progress of a
rival player ; while your rabbiter is one
who stoops suddenly down in front of a
man running with the ball, and of
course sends him flying forward, as
likely as not on to his head or the
point of his shoulder, so that
there is about an equal chance
of a neck or a collar bone being broken.
The head and front of all the offending
lies at the door of the permission given
to run with the ball. Now, by the
English rules the game is essentially
football, and gives a much more equal
chance to the slow runner as against
a speedier antagonist. Thero are no
torn shirts, and bleeding faces ; no black
eyes, sprained ankles and knees; no
weeks and months in a sick room, to
the stoppage of business or occupation,
and consequent loss of money and
possible crippling for life. A great
number of tho best football players
in the colony have entirely given up
the game, because of its violence and
rowdyism ; though they may bo seen
at the edge of the arena sniffing the
battle that is raging in front of them,
as the citizens of Imperial Rome used
to flock to witness the gladiatorial dis
plays in the Coliseum. "We are satis-
fied that unless some salutary
change be made in the rules,
tho game will become rougher and
more furious, for party feeling
between the various clubs has risen to
a very high pitch already, and is sure
to increase in intensity. Wo would
therefore commend the English Asso-
ciation rules to tho earnest considera-
tion of the leading players, with a view
to the adoption of at least so much of
them as will lescue a noble and manly
game from the ruffianism from which it
seoms, as played now, to he inseparable.
The game is sufficiently exhilarating
and animated as played under the
English Association rules, as the grow
ing national interest in tho sport tes-
tifies. It would be a disgrace to Vic
toria if a death or two more were to
occur through a continuance of a sport
which one would imagine could only
be played amongst savages.
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