Section F. 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SCIENCE AND 
STATISTICS. 
President of Section: R. M. Johnston, Esg., F-L.S., 
Registrar General of Tasmania. 
1—OUR MEAT SUPPLY. 
By H. H. Hayter, C.M.G. 
Mr. Cocuian, the Government Statistician of New South Wales, 
some time since published a series of calculations in regard to the 
supply of meat in continental Australia, and the probability of 
its continuing to be sufficient for the wants of the fast-increasing 
population. As the result of his investigations, Mr. Coghlan 
came to the conclusion that for many years to come the supply of 
mutton would be amply sufficient, but that the demand for beef 
- would probably overtake the supply in the course of six years. 
At first sight it appears hardly probable in a scantily-populated 
country like Australia, with millions of sheep and cattle roaming 
at large on plain and hill, having also immense tracts suitable for 
pastoral purposes still unstocked, that there should be any danger 
of the meat supply falling short; still, since an experienced 
statistician, after much patient investigation, has pronounced that 
the danger exists—at any rate, so far as the supply of beef is 
concerned-—the matter certainly merits to be fully enquired into. 
Mr. Coghlan starts with the assumption that the population of 
Australia is increasing at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum. 
This, it may be observed, is a faster rate than that at which the 
population of any country, starting with a population as large as 
that Australia contains at the present time, has ever been known 
to increase for long together, and would result in the population 
doubling itself in rather less than eighteen years, which is an 
unheard-of result. It is true that since 1881 the population, 
according to estimates made in the different colonies, has 
apparently increased at the annual rate of rather over 4 per 
cent., but this estimate, if correct, which is doubtful, must be 
looked upon as quite exceptional and impossible to be sustained. 
The present rate of increase by excess of births over deaths is 
something under 2 per cent., which being much higher than the 
rate prevailing in any other country, may also be expected to 
