Page:Victoria, with a description of its principal cities, Melbourne and Geelong.djvu/228

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APPENDIX.
195
  1. culation of what every possible outgoing the emigrant cost the colony per head; and if it were found that this would not pay a Company, it would be useless to try it; but it could scarcely be but that private enterprise, with a sufficient capital, could conduct on extensive deportation at a very low rate, whilst the Government would always pay the highest. Moreover, now that peace has been proclaimed, freights will be very low, and it might even be profitable for a Company to take a contract as low as fifteen acres per head; for, supposing that passages came down as low as £10, the remaining five acres, otherwise £5, after deducting for discount on the sale of remissions, and other such expenses, would leave a very handsome margin for profit, besides what could be got from the emigrants themselves; but this could not be carried to any great extent, because it might check the desire to emigrate, and the great profit of the Company will be in numbers.


Immigration.

The official return for the month of June, of arrivals and departures at this colony, exhibits a more favourable state of affairs than any previous month of the current year.

The arrivals from the United Kingdom and foreign ports were 3629
The departures for ditto 418
Gain to the colony from British and Foreign emigration
2816

To this balance in our favour may be added some five or six hundred Chinese, who made their way overland during the month, and therefore escape enumeration.

Our gain from the neighbouring colonies, although much checked by the severe weather of the month, continues to be