GENERAL REMARKS 323 



hiring out the camels to the public, (ft) by the sale of 

 the hair, (c) and of the skins of the dead animals. This, 

 after the numerous examples that we have before us 

 in the past, should seem self-evident, but whether or no 

 we make no effort to move in the right direction. Let 

 us hope, however, that before long our national indolence 

 will be awakened, and the vital importance of the fact 

 recognised by those deep-thinking men who take a real 

 interest in the welfare of the mother country and in the 

 growth of that Greater Britain outside it ; and let us 

 trust sincerely that on the c better late than never ' 

 principle they will lose no time in boldly taking the 

 initiative. 



Nor can I conclude without reference to the un- Suitability 

 doubted suitability of Australia and South Africa, liafS? 



regarding the employment of the camel in its threefold 

 capacity of riding, carrying, and drawing. I have never, camel 

 I regret to say, been to Australia, but from the second- 

 hand knowledge of it that I have gleaned from men 

 and books I am firmly convinced that the colonies of 

 Western and Southern Australia and Queensland are 

 splendidly adapted for the animal in every way, and 

 that if properly worked and managed the interior can 

 and will be opened up and expanded through its 

 medium into self-supporting districts ; while it is 

 evident that the comparative cost of maintenance 

 between camels and oxen in a country like Australia, 

 where the former are a recent importation, would in 

 a few years tell in favour of the camel, the advan- 

 tage being entirely on its side. That the Austra- 

 lians have already begun to appreciate its value is 

 proved by the great increase latterly in the numbers 



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