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MR. MACLAREN'S QUESTIONS.
^QUESTION 6 -What persons obtain
employment in Atlelaide,or in any other
town, if such there be ? Are there
shopkeepers, or labourers, or servants,
or mechanics, or clerks, &c. ¿tc, re
- quired there? And what description
of labourers, or servants, or mecha
nies, fiiid employment in the country ?
What rémunération is given to various
classes?
Since this question was penned, the
circumstances of Adelaide with respect
to the principal demands for labour
are very considerably altered.
At first the great demand was for
men accustomed to every department
in building-carpenters, joiners, brick
layers, plasterers, &c. ¿tc. ; for every
person who came was about to settle
in Adelaide, or its immediate vici
nity, and every one required to have
a house or place of business erected <
without delay. The demand for this
-class of workmen was much greater
than the supply. As soon as the first
-settlers had their own houses erected,
they turned their attention to building
-ou speculation, assured that the influx -
of emigrants would soon furnish them
with tenants. The demand for builders
was therefore continued. In the first
.instance many persons were compelled
to bring out wooden houses from Eng
land, or to make shift with the incom
rnodities of a tent. When once build
ing commenced on speculation, that
necessity was diminished, and now
it may be said to have ceased alto
gether. Tn proportion to the number
of houses in course of erection above
the direct and certain prospect of te
nancy must the demand for buildings
?be diminished. Another thing also
tends to limit this demand. By far
the greater portion nf Emigrants who
now arrive, leave Adelaide and to into
the country. While therefore the b old
ing trade must always keep its p'ace
at Adelaide, so long as the town it
self continues to be prosperous, it can .
not be expected that any extra supply
of labonrets in that department will
be required. Trade and mechanical
employment will be equalized, and
every department will maintain its ba
lance. Now this is very much the
state of things at Adelaide at present.
Every species of occupation increases,
we may say rapidly, but still it io*
-creases only in proportion to the growth
.of the Capital, in the number and
wealth of its inhabitants, and the in
fluence it exerts on the surrounding
«country.
it may be justly inferred from these
remarks, that while the Colony con
tinues to grow in importance and
reputation at home, there will always
be room for new settlers in the various
branches of trade, and that the surplus
labourers will find ready employment
in the many townships which are spring
ing, and will spring up in the other
parts of the Province. In a new town
ship.builders,carpenters, masons, brick
makers, &c. will be the first required ;
and these will be succeeded by all
others according to the prosperity of
the place.
At present the wages paid to car
penters, &c. are enormously high, which
is a proof that tbe.supply yet scarcely
meets the demand. The fact is, that
much more work wouhi be done, and
a nîuch greater number of workmen
on»plo\ed if *he\ could be had at 10s.
in-toad of 14s. a day. Qpe of the
tretest obstacles to the employment
<jf capital at present existing, is the
...-disimportionate price otlabour.
With regard to th* clatter of Ja*
botirers aad other operative» most
required j au Outline may be given.
Of shopkeepers we have certainly
an abundatice. We want farm-labour
ers of every description, husbandmen,
shepherds, &c. Carpenters,LrickIayers,
glaziers, wheel-wrights, blacksmiths,
shoemakers, tailors; and other common
mechanics, will long be in request in
the Colony. There is great want oí
men accustomed to the printing busi
ness, both good press-men and compo
sitors, in this as welt as in all the other
Australasian colonies. Servants, both
male and female, are in request. There
is no want of professional men gene
rally speaking. Men who live by the
exercise of their mental powers are not
likely to meet with encouragement, ex
cept as they can render their talents
available in commercial affairs.
The remuneration we have already
said is high to workmeo and others
whose services are actually required
Journeymen carpenters are employed
at 14«*. a-day, bricklayers 12s" farm
(abotirets 7s. or tts. Storekeepers £3
per week. Shepherds and managers in
various trades ate often employed at
two [ guineas a week and their rations.
Á single man, a shopman, receives
£50 or £60 a year and his board. A
man servant will also receive the same
j Female servants of good character and
competent qualifications have f:om £12
to £20 ; a girl of 12 or 13 years of
age asks 4s. a week. Of course it will !
be understood that these sums are
stated merely as a general specimen of
wages; the variations will be regulated
by numerous circumstances which can
uot here be detailed.
Question 7. What capital is needed
for small farms? What for sheep and
cattle farms ? What description of
farms is most suitable to such as have j
little experience of a farming life ?
What materials should such as enter
on farming operations take with them ?
What description of dwellings, wooden
frames, lents, or otherwise ?
By a small [agricultural] farm we
suppose is meant a single section of
80 acres. The propoitiou of capita!
required for one section would in
some impostant points nearly suiïice
for two, and on that principle that
proportion will be greater for a smalt
farm than for a large one. For in
stance, for oue section a mau mu»t
have his farming utensils, and his team
ot oxen, and perhaps he would scarcely
require more for two sections if they
were contiguous to each osber. Ot
course the exp*use of labour would
be increas d in a ceitain ptopoitiou to
the quantity of land to be cultivated,
and this is almost the only expense
which would be so <i uer teased.
In the-ouiï^t, the fa tetter need not
concern h»»i.«eit in erect tug a house.'
A hut suitable /or bis immediate use
may be put up in a fv*v hones, If
ts only during the very wot weather
of the mote tainy season that any
material inconvenience would tie f. it.
At ail other tiss es cooking; may be
performed out of doors as well as in.
The shelter of trees is however d< sua
ble on account of the raj's ot the sun.
The fanner cuy therefore proceed to
his proper occupation at once, and
when all is done that the season de
mands, he may proceed to eiect for
himself such better accommodation,
and such sheds to protect his cattle
and his implements as he temporarily
requires. As it is supposed be is
prepared to do this for the most part
himself, when he has little else to do,
he will save the capital he may pos
sess from unnecessary diminution.
With management likewise he may
diminish the expense of living, till
the farm can be made to produce
coin ; potatoes, and other vegetables
can be produced. We have known '
some,who, in this way, with the addition
of rice, pork.and occasional fresh meat J
have nearly provided themselves with
sustenance during the first year.
If the farmer be within three or four
miles of some principal settlement, they
may make some profit by the sale ot
eggs, milk, garden vegetables, &c.
which will further help them out duriug
the first mouths of their location^
Now supposing that every advantage
is made use of, and the farmer be con
tent to labour himself to the utmost, a
capital of £250 in addition to the
purchase of the section, and clear of
every incidental expeuce attending his
arrival in the colony, will be amply
sufficient to keep him clear of embarass
ment. His cattle may be purchased
at an average, say, of £12 a head. He
will require a plough, cart, and other
implements. Thc cost of conveyance
for his goods, if far from the place of
purchase wiii be considerable*, bnt when
once all this has been done, aud the
«eft 1er is once fixed on his acres, he
has not a repetition of thess ex pences.'
He need not travel ranch from
home. He bas nothing to do
but to contrive means for his
living, and to keep his husbandry
alive. Of course he will require some:
assistance in these operations, but if he
have sops, who are interested io hts
success, his «xpence on this score is
alto spaTed.
Willi regard to sheep and cattle
farmers, the netter is considerably
different. Of course a section would
,be enough for dairy purposes. But
this object requires proximity to some
principal- settlement. If grazing be
followed as a trade, a much larger ex
tent of land wouhl be required, and the
same remark mu^t be made of sheep
farming. It wouldtherefore be imprac
ticable, with a small capital to purchase
land sufficient for this purpose. For
further information on this point, we
refer our readers,'to a letter ia our
paper of Oct. 13* 1833.
With regard to the rearing of sheep,
it seems the best way, for the small
capitalist, without (practical knowledge,
to put out his sheep on thirds, and to
gain experience by taking some situ
ation in that department. Of course
wa«;es could not be so much an object
to him as ultimate success. Tfet he
would hy ! hi * means be living without
expence, and douhtlrss earning some
thing besides. His flock also, at:d
his capital with il, would be increasing.
Then when it mighibe-MilIicie<itly lame,
he might hire land f-ir^dinseifaud employ
his own labourers. But he need not
trouble himself with- this <>t first. ? h^
real object of á sen ie shou'd be to
get into that l ue which ultimately leads ¡
ti» success. Now oil ;h« jiroictole itere
recommended, no specific sum ot money
need be named to commence, with.
The emigrant couh^pccupy in this way
any sum he might have at his disposal.
We cannot pretend lo say what line
of farming would be best suited to inex
perienced persons. Much would depend
on taste, on perseverance, and on vari
ous nadir tl endowments. But certainty
with absolute igHorau.ce on the subject,
we should recommend no one to com
mence. «Some means should be adopted
to store tlie mind with the necessary
information, and the more practical
that iufoimation is the better.
We have already described the ma
terials with which the settler should
commence. It has become very unne
cessary to bring out these materials from
England, uulegs it be deemed desirable
to purchase a good stock of such pro
visions as are dear in the colony.
in bringing out various things from
England, the chances a*e always that
the advantage trained in cheapness
will be^i^st.m fi eight, carriage, duty,
¿Sic. &r.,ín~ha^íng things nearly useless,
or more (bau the circumstances imme
diately require. Not ari"article should
l»e purchased t«o»e than is necessary.
Cash in hand is a tar more profit-able
thing at present in the colony, tJ.an
any oilier temporal commodity, the
necessity sustenance of human lite
alone excepted. . .
We would *ay the sainé tbit.g with
regard to a d**'eiitiVg. VVe »to not
advise the bringing qui wooden houses,
They are not suue*! to the climate.
They are become unnecessary. The
cost of con\eyance is so high in the
colony, that v.ery few persons find ii
wottii while to incur, II for these articles
from Adelaide lo tiie interior. Nothing
inferior to a brick house, with walls of
good thickness, should be erected as
soon as is practicable. But every
thtng necessary lor their erection can
now be procured in the colony. Tents
are not amiss to commence with, but
they are tar too bot to be pleasant in
summer. In fact, with native wood,
and a few pieces of tarpaulin a settler
may render all these articles unneces
sary, and he may goon from one degree
of accommodation to another as his
means writ allow.
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