Australian speculators seem to have the courage of their con Tictions,
and perhaps just a little impudence besides. If we may trust the Times, a scheme is on foot to construct a railway from Port Augusta on the south to Port Darwin on the north, right across the Continent. The promoters say it will cost /7,000,000, -and are bringing a Bill into the Legislature of South Australia, assigning to them "alternate blocks of land with ten miles' frontage and 150 miles' depth along the whole line of the railway." This, if granted, would amount in all to a territory of 303,125 square miles, that is four times Great Britain, none of which will be 150 miles from a railway. They should ask for Australia in ,fee-simple. The Australians had much better wait a few years, or -even raise the money by loan, than mortgage their entire future in this preposterous style to private individuals. It is like selling the air to secure a balloon.
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