THE FirsT Two YEARS OF THE “SOCIFTY.” 223 
OSBORNE was also direfting his attention to plans for 
ploughing and draining by steam power. Through such 
enterprising individuals, aided by the Consulting Engineer 
of the Society, Mr. JOSIAH PARKES, they might shortly 
expect to have this great desideratum effected by proper 
machinery. 
It was highly gratifying to them to have to state that 
the weather for the past year had been most favourable, 
and that the crop of the colony for the year 1844 had 
increased by more than 3,000 hogsheads over that of the 
previous year, notwithstanding the great scarcity and 
difficulty of procuring labour. This increase, it was to 
be observed, had been obtained by a rise in the labour 
market in particular localities, but it could not be dis- 
guised that the agriculturalists were merely struggling 
for existence, and, making allowance for labour-saving 
contrivances, their distresses would continue until the 
yoid in the labour market was filled to a great extent 
by the introduction of immigrants, or the increase, 
by natural means, of the labouring population of the 
colony. 
Among the publications received was a pamphlet by 
Baron VON GRIESHEIM. They deemed it necessary to 
say that they could not admit the correctness of most of 
his statements and conclusions, His condemnation of 
the planters was based on the supposition that labourers 
might have been induced immediately after the Appren- 
ticeship to purchase land and adopt the A/etayer system 
on the same estates where they were located. The 
extent, however, to which labourers had become free- 
holders was by no means a positive or certain indication 
that they could have been persuaded, with advantage 
FF 2 
