LAND SETTLEMENT AND THE PROVISION OF CREDIT 



87 



Table XII. — Government loans and number of holdings (1914). 



N. S. Wales 

 Victoria (i) . 

 S. Australia . 

 W. Australia 

 Tasmania . . 



Number 

 of holdings 



92,665 

 66,811 

 21,369 

 15,620 

 13,371 



Balances 

 outstanding 



2,297,981 

 1,511,798 

 1,264,417 

 2,331,959 

 36,965 



Calculated loan 



advance 



per holding 



24.8 

 22.6 

 592 



149-3 

 2.8 



(I) 1913- 



Such a comparison gives a general view of the situation, but lays no 

 claim to completeness. It embraces all holdings irrespective of size, and 

 some vStates have a greater preponderance of small holdings than others 

 Examination of the details show that Western Australia has relatively 

 somewhat fewer of the smaller sizes than the oldei States. Its differences 

 in this respect, are, however, trivial when compared with the proportionate 

 advance per holding, and it is clear, therefore, that in proportion to their 

 numbers, the government there has gone much further in providing credit 

 for its farmers than have those of the .sister States. 



Newness of farms in Western Australia. — The results found in the 

 preceding paragraph pay, at first sight, a poor compliment to the farming 

 conditions prevalent within the State. It should be recollected, however, 

 that agriculture in Western Australia is very largely a new development, 

 and that its operations (Table I.) and its number of holdings (Table VI) 

 have increased with great rapidity during recent years. The newness of 

 its agriculture is also indicated by the rapid increase in the area of its 

 lands already alienated or in the process of alienation (Table V). This 

 increase is not onh' relatively, but also absolutely, greater than the corres- 

 ponding increase in any other State. This can be seen from the following 

 statement where the total area of land ahenated and in process of alien- 

 ation is stated for each State at 1901 and again at 1913 - the last year 

 for which complete data are available. 



