1862.] THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 113 



by M. Thozet^ of Rockhampton)^ jams, preserved fruits, and 

 wines. 



The Colony of Queensland a Cotton-Productng District. 

 From the ' Brhbane Courier,'' Nov. 14, 1861. 



" There is at present a peculiar interest attached to the produc- 

 tion of cotton, owing to the disastrous civil war now raging in 

 the United States, and the probable scarcity of this important 

 staple in consequence, which will inevitably entail upon the 

 manufacturing interests of Great Britain much distress and 

 misery. The samples of sea-island cotton exhibited at Brisbane 

 to be sent to the International Exliibition are twenty-four in 

 number, and have been grown in different parts of the colony 

 during the present year — an unusually unseasonable year for the 

 purpose. The majority of the samples are from the coast coun- 

 try of the colony ; but there is one sample from the Dawson 

 River, a distance of two hundred miles from the seaboard. This 

 interesting fact will give the manufacturers of England some idea 

 of the vastness of our cotton field, and show them that there is a 

 colonj'^ in Australia from whence a supply of this valuable staple, 

 equal to any demand, can be furnished, so soon as capital and 

 labour are introduced into it for the purpose. 



" In order to encourage the cultivation of this valuable staple 

 product, we felt warranted in offering to purchase all the cotton 

 that might be grown during this year, at a fair price (but which 

 was in no way intended to interfere with the liberal bonus 

 offered by the Government, namely, £10 per bale) ; an encourage- 

 ment which appears to have been attended with some success, 

 judging from the quantity sent in to the Commissioners. In 

 awarding the prizes of this class, the jurors experienced consi- 

 derable difficulty, owing to the quality of the samples as regarded 

 the fineness, strength, and length of staple ; but, as some of the 

 exhibitors had taken more pains than others in the cleaning and 

 preparation of the wool, the jurors were compelled, in some 

 instances where the samples were so equal in quality, to award 

 the prize to the more clean and more carefully-picked samples ; 

 an explanation which we hope will prove satisfactory to those 

 interested in such awards. The defective preparation of some 

 of the samples may be accounted for by the imperfect machinery 

 made use of. 



n. s. vol. VI. Q 



